Thu, May 19, 2005

Lyme disease infects humans, pets
Parents, owners urged to watch out for telltale signs of sickness

By Matt Conn
For the Wausau Daily Herald
As the weather warms and north central Wisconsin residents hit the woods for a hike or nestle in the freshly mown grass with a good book, they should be aware of the blood-sucking, disease- carrying tiny arachnids that could be lurking outdoors.

Ticks may be small, but some of them can take you down with Lyme disease, which is most common from May through August and quite treatable, but in no way comfortable.

"I spent a month feeling as bad as I've felt in my entire life," said Dr. Steve Kirkhorn, who contracted the disease in late 2003.

You may not see the tick that does it, but the symptoms become obvious.

Kirkhorn, who directs both the Occupational Health Department and the National Farm Medicine Center at Marshfield Clinic, contracted Lyme disease when he lived in the St. Croix Valley.[WI.]

He said he became careless protecting himself when out in the forest, because he didn't think the central Wisconsin area had very many cases. When he began suffering from extreme headaches, night sweats and stiffness in his joints, he didn't think it was Lyme disease.

Lyme disease was named in 1977, when arthritis was observed in a cluster of children in and around Lyme, Conn., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2002, the most recent year for which data is available, 23,763 cases of Lyme disease were reported, and 95 percent of them were from the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin reported 1,090 cases in 2002, up from 597 the previous year and 631 in 2000. As people participate in outdoor activities or live near forests that harbor ticks, they become more at risk for Lyme disease. According to the CDC, four to six weeks of antibiotic treatment is generally effective during the early stages of Lyme disease. If left untreated, it can cause arthritis, neurological abnormalities and possibly inflammation of the brain.

"It was just miserable," Scott Heiberger, 42, said of Lyme disease, which he contracted in 2001. "Horrible headaches. High fever. The worst headaches I've ever had in my life."
Heiberger, communications specialist with the National Farm Medicine Center of the Marshfield Medical Research Foundation, said he isn't sure how it happened, but he probably was bitten by a tick at his home in the Portage County town of Dewey. He first noticed a rash and didn't think much of it, but then came the headaches and sweating for several days. At first, a doctor thought he had the flu, but then Heiberger developed pink lesions with clear centers on his trunk and limbs - the "bull's eye" rash that is the telltale sign of Lyme disease.

"I will never again mistake an obvious red rash for anything other than Lyme," he said.

The disease isn't specific to humans. Heiberger's dog had it, too.

In a study published in the 2001 American Journal of Tropical Medicine, researchers found that the prevalence of an antibody that fights Lyme disease in canines from selected counties in northern Illinois and Wisconsin ranged anywhere from zero to 40 percent, with the highest concentration being in west central Wisconsin.

Lyme disease detection, prevention
You may not see the tick that does it, but the symptoms become obvious.

Your pet may be just fine one day, and the next day, it may be extremely lethargic, or even lame, said Dr. Barb Korte, a veterinarian who works at Marshfield Veterinary Service, Inc., and others in the central Wisconsin area.

According to veterinary professionals, to protect your pet you should monitor these signs:
� Lameness or stiffness
� Swelling of limbs or joints
� Fever
� Lethargy or reluctance to move
� Loss of appetite
� Vomiting
� Depression
Korte said the best protection comes in a liquid product that owners can rub through their pets' hair. Dogs are usually more at risk, she said.

Pet owners can't directly contract Lyme disease from their companions, but tiny ticks bite mice infected with Lyme disease and then bite people or other animals, such as dogs and horses, passing the disease to them, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To protect yourself, the CDC recommends:
� Whenever possible, you should avoid entering areas that are likely to be infested with ticks, particularly in spring and summer when nymphal ticks feed.

� If you are in an area with ticks, you should wear light-colored clothing so that ticks can be spotted more easily and removed before becoming attached.

� If you are in an area with ticks, wear long-sleeved shirts, and tuck your pants into socks. You also may want to wear high rubber boots, since ticks are usually located close to the ground.

� Apply insect repellents containing DEET to clothes and exposed skin, and permethrin - which kills ticks on contact - to clothes, to help reduce the risk of tick attachment. DEET can be used safely on children and adults but should be applied according to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines to reduce the possibility of toxicity.

� Since transmission of B. burgdorferi from an infected tick is unlikely to occur within the first 36 hours of tick attachment, check for ticks daily and remove them promptly. Embedded ticks should be removed by using fine-tipped tweezers. Cleanse the area with an antiseptic.

� You can reduce the number of ticks around your home by removing leaf litter, and brush and woodpiles around your house and at the edge of your yard. By clearing trees and brush in your yard, you can reduce the likelihood that deer, rodents and ticks will live there.

- Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

Think we should tell Dr. Kirkhorn that he probably has babesia as well ?

See, long-term lymies are dismissed, but just let a doctor get it, and WHAMMO, the whole world stops ! These guys were crying like little babies, in early stage lyme !

Let me be the first to give these two health professional's a diagnosis:

It's all in your head ! Why don't you just get on with your life ? I'll recommend a good psychiatrist !

MUwhahahahahahahahahahahhaha.............

Being the patient does have a way of giving a doctor a better bedside manner.

It would be great if there could be a virtual-lyme experience for all medical students before they could become doctors.

Someone really needs to looking into creating that! It would not be a Disneyland ride, I tell you that!

I bet all docs would be LLDs!

fedup - I am so sorry to hear that you are very sick and not receiving the care that you deserve. I hope you find someone soon that will be able to help you.

Are you new here or have you been here before and have returned? I am new and believe my daughter has lyme.

We are going to see a LLD on Monday. It would be good if you could get to a LLD before your doxy runs out.

I don't know that much yet, but that would seem best. I don't know if the little boogers (spirochetes) get a break for a while what happens.

Hey, I am not try to make you paranoid. If you are concerned though, it seems we have both landed at the right place.

There is probably an answer to any question you have on this site. I have been very impressed!