Health department reports major increase in Lyme disease cases in New Philadelphia

NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ The city of New Philadelphia has seen a major increase in reported cases of Lyme disease in the past year.

In 2022, the New Philadelphia Health Department received reports of 12 cases among city residents, including three cases involving children under the age of 18. So far in 2023, the department has received 23 reports of cases, including 11 involving children under the age of 18.

"The numbers have already doubled and we're only halfway through the year," said Nichole Bache, director of nursing for the city health department.

Lyme disease is named for Lyme, Connecticut, where the disease was first identified. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system.

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Bache said symptoms can show up from three to 30 days, or sometimes months later.

Blacklegged ticks are the culprit

The disease is spread when a person is bitten by an infected blacklegged tick, which has become common in wooded areas of east central Ohio.

"The ticks are looking for opportunity," said New Philadelphia Health Commissioner Vickie Ionno. "They are hanging on to tall weeds. As you pass by, they're ready to grab hold of you, so it's very easy to get them on, and of course your pets as well. Your pets can go out on your property and then carry ticks in. You need to be watching them. They can also get Lyme disease and need to be treated as well."

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Health officials recommend that when someone is outdoors, they should wear repellent, wear long sleeves and long clothing, tuck their pants into their socks or boots and walk in the middle of a trail when hiking in the woods. When people come home, they should have someone check them for ticks and then shower immediately to remove any ticks that may be on them.

Lyme disease is something that can be treated, Bache said.

"It's a bacterial infection, so an antibiotic for a couple of weeks is going to take care of this for you," she said. "The problems come when it's left untreated long term. It can cause other issues down the road in your joints, in your heart, in your nervous system, so it's just important that if you feel that you have it, maybe to seek out medical care."

She said it is difficult to say where New Philadelphia residents are being bitten by ticks. Reports of infection come from laboratories, but by the time health department officials make contact with infected persons, it can be several weeks to a couple of months since symptoms began. It is often hard for people to remember all of the places they have been in that time period.

Tick bites can trigger severe allergic reaction to red meat

In addition to Lyme disease, tick bites have triggered a severe allergic reaction to red meat in some people. More than 100,000 people in the United States have developed the allergy since 2010, according to a government report released in July.

The reaction, called alpha-gal syndrome, occurs when an infected person eats beef, pork, venison or other meat from mammals — or ingests milk, gelatin or other mammal products.

Bache said blacklegged ticks are here to stay in eastern Ohio, and residents will need to take precautions against contracting Lyme disease.

"It's just going to be a problem that we're going to need to be aware of so that we can do things to prevent it because we're not going to be able to stop the problem. So, education is just going to be the key here," she said.

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Reported Lyme disease cases have doubled this year in New Philadelphia