Cases of Lyme disease increase 34 percent in
Connecticut
May 22, 2006
Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Cases of Lyme disease in Connecticut
increased 34 percent last year, primarily because there were more animals for
disease-carrying ticks to feed on, state health officials said.
The state Department of Public Health said there were 1,810 new cases of Lyme
disease reported by health care providers in 2005, up from 1,348 in 2004. The
rate of Lyme disease in the state last year was 53 cases per 100,000 people.
Windham County had the highest rate in 2005, 173 cases per 100,000 people.
Litchfield County was next with 164 cases per 100,000, and New London County
was third with 120 per 100,000.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 19,804 cases
of Lyme disease across the country in 2004, the latest year for which
statistics are available. That translated to a rate of 6.7 cases per
100,000 people. Connecticut's rate in 2004 was 39.6 cases per 100,000.
Lyme disease is more prevalent in northern states where deer ticks that spread
the ailment live.
Symptoms of the disease include skin rash, depression, dementia, loss of
reflexes, muscle aches and blurry vision. The CDC says most cases of Lyme
disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics, and
recommends prevention efforts including using insect repellent and removing
ticks promptly.
Health officials told the Greenwich Time that an increase in the number of
deer, mice, chipmunks and other animals ticks feed on helped more of the
insects survive last year.
Kirby Stafford, chief entomologist and vice director of the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station, a state-supported research institution based
in New Haven, said weather conditions influence the populations of animals
ticks feed on, which in turn affects how many ticks get blood meals.
"The gross number is kind of tied with the deer population, because the
number of deer is one of the main determinants of what the overall number of
ticks is," Stafford said.
U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is sponsoring a bill that would expand
federal efforts to prevent, treat and research Lyme disease and other
tick-borne illnesses.
