MCMS Physician Summer 2017 - 8

mon t m e d s o c .c om

COVER STORY

Lyme Disease
BY LEONARD OLU-WILLIAMS, MPH, CHES
PUBLIC HEALTH INFO ANALYST, MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

L

yme disease is a bacterial infection primarily transmitted
by Ixodes ticks, also known as deer ticks, and on the West
Coast, black-legged ticks. These tiny arachnids are typically
found in wooded and grassy areas. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention estimate that 300,000 people are diagnosed with
Lyme disease in the United States every year. However, because
diagnosing Lyme can be difficult, many people who actually have
Lyme may be misdiagnosed with other conditions. Many experts
believe the true number of cases is much higher.

Warmer Winters May Increase Number
of Cases
In 2015, there were 9,427 confirmed cases of Lyme disease
reported in Pennsylvania, of which 396 of these confirmed cases
were in Montgomery County. Due to back-to-back warmer
winters, health officials are predicting that we may observe a bad
tick season and therefore we could potentially see an increase in the
number of cases of tick-borne illnesses.
It is important to know that ticks infect most people when
they are in the nymph stage (an immature stage) of development,
because they are very small and difficult to see. The infected ticks
can attach to any part of the human body but are often found

MCMS PHYSICIAN 8 SUMMER 2017
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