Lyme disease on the rise in Virginia

By: Daily Progress Staff Reports | Daily Progress
Published: May 06, 2011

State health officials are warning residents to be aware of the increase in cases of Lyme disease statewide.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Lyme disease activity is spreading southward and westward from the northern regions of Virginia, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Health.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness spread to humans through bites from infected ticks. Symptoms appear in one to two weeks and include a rash, fever, achiness and joint pain.

If untreated, patients can develop arthritis and neurological or heart problems within weeks of the initial bite, according to information from the VDH website.

Last year, more than 1,200 cases of Lyme disease were reported statewide, the release said.

“The risk of acquiring any tick-borne disease increases in the spring and summer, because ticks become more active during warmer weather, just when people tend to spend more time outside,” said Elizabeth Davies, epidemiologist with the Thomas Jefferson Health District.

The number of newly identified Lyme disease cases reported in Virginia has been on the rise since 2000, the release said.

The local health department, which serves Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa, Greene and Nelson counties, had 112 cases of Lyme disease reported from 2007 to 2009.

People should check themselves and children for ticks after being outside, wear light clothing so that ticks are easier to see and remove and apply tick repellant to exposed areas of the body and to clothing, the release said.

For more information about Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases, go to www.vdh.virginia.gov.