steve1906
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16206
posted
June 25, 2014
You've heard of Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by a bite by an infected tick.
There's a good chance you know someone who has had it.
From 2002-12, more than 46,000 Pennsylvanians were diagnosed with the disease.
While we don't have rates of infection like they do in Vermont and New Hampshire, in terms of sheer numbers, Pennsylvania had the highest number of Lyme disease cases nationwide from 2009-12.
That's why state Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, got the Legislature to buy into his bill to create a task force within the Pennsylvania Department of Health to educate the public about Lyme disease and to conduct a tick surveillance program statewide.
The bill is on its way to Gov. Tom Corbett's desk.
According to Greenleaf's office, the task force would develop a public education program and coordinate its efforts with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Department of Education to reach outdoorsmen, visitors to state parks and students.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the first symptom is usually a rash, which may look like a bull's-eye. As the infection spreads, you may have a fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, stiff neck and fatigue, it said.
Antibiotics can cure most cases of Lyme disease, it said. The sooner treatment begins, the quicker and more complete the recovery.
To avoid getting tick bites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say to avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. If you are in the woods, walk in the center of trails. Additionally, use repellent with DEET or permethrin.
When you get inside, get into the shower. Check your kids' bodies, including their heads. You can tumble dry your clothes to kill remaining ticks, it said.
posted
About time!! Feels like the ticks are relentless lately. Even found some at my office (desk job). They are unavoidable this year.
Posts: 2 | From Poconos, PA | Registered: Jun 2014
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