POWELL, Ohio - An insect expert was traveling the state to warn counties and
veterinarians about an increase in deer ticks, 10TV’s Kristyn Hartman reported
on Monday.
Fifteen years ago, deer ticks were unheard of in Ohio. Now 26
counties, including Franklin and Delaware, are on the watch list
The
black legged deer tick, which can be as small as a poppy seed, can carry Lyme
disease.
If bites are diagnosed early, the illness can be easily treated
with antibiotics. If missed, it can mean years of misery, Hartman
reported.
Paige Caulley said that she discovered that first
hand.
"We think I was bit when I was really, really young," said Caulley,
27.
Caulley grew up in Connecticut, where Lyme disease was more common.
She said that she knew many classmates who had gotten the illness.
The
Powell resident said that she has suffered from health problems throughout her
life but never associated them with Lyme disease.
Caulley said that the
problems grew worse after her daughter was born 18 months ago.
"I had a
family doctor who just told me I need to start exercising. And that I need to
see a therapist. And that it was all in my head. And I was in so much pain that
I could barely walk," Caulley said.
Caulley looked to many doctors for
help before finding a specialist in New York.
Now, Caulley makes monthly
trips to New York, takes a variety of pills and gives herself a daily
intravenous drip of antibiotics. Her medical bills exceed $50,000.
Glen
Needham, an entomologist at the Ohio State University, who works with the state
health department, travels the state warning county health departments and
veterinarians that ticks are on the march across Ohio.
"We've gone from
what we believe were no counties with black legged ticks, to two counties, to 26
counties," he said.
Hunters brought deer heads to the state lab for tick
checks. In one year, numbers ballooned from 29 ticks to 1,800, Hartman
reported.
“Dogs will be kind of canary in the cave for us.” Needham said.
"So we think dogs may get Lyme Disease first in the state. And that may alert us
to where some of these hot spots are," Needham said.
The infection is
first identified by a bull’s-eye rash that many people may not
notice.
Those infected could have a few days of flu-like symptoms, then
feel better. But the disease does not go away. It could spread into the heart,
the joints, and the nervous system.
Caulley thought that is what happened
to her. Now she faces four more months of an IV antibiotic and a struggle to
feel well, but a struggle that she thought was worth it, Hartman
reported.
"I'm like 50 percent better," Caulley said.
Needham says
Lyme disease may be difficult to diagnose, because patients experience a variety
of symptoms. To cut the risk of getting sick, he said people should spray skin
and clothes with an insecticide containing DEET.
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