Lyme
disease is a bigger problem than physicians and health officials think
The Daily Times
Salisbury, MD
by Laura D’Alessandro
Special to the Times
24 June 2004
Salisbury, MD —
According to members of the Eastern Shore Lyme Disease Association, Lyme
disease is a bigger problem than physicians and health officials think.
With tick season officially
underway, ticks and Lyme disease are a hot topic but state and local officials
are taking little or no action to control the tick population.
The Eastern Shore is
a hot spot for Lyme disease making it even more pertinent to prevent tick
bites and if bitten, to seek a physician for diagnosis and treatment
But even when those
precautions are taken, the diagnosis is not always accurate. Lyme disease
tests employed by doctors in the area are not accurate enough, according
to Jackie King of the Eastern Shore Lyme Disease Association.
“Lyme disease
is a tough disease to diagnose,” King said. “Diagnosis and treatment
need to be more clinical.”
According to Pam Andrews,
a founder of the association, up to 10 times more people have Lyme disease
than are being diagnosed.
Pat Smith, president
of the Lyme Disease Association and vice president of political action for
the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society, said even statistics
from the Centers for Disease Control are not accurate due to misdiagnosis
by physicians who are not adequately educated on the disease and tests that
are not sensitive enough.
The Lyme disease bacteria
spends its time in the tissues and organs, not the blood so when doctors
give blood tests to detect the bacteria it is often not a proper indicator,
Smith said.
“The tests are
maybe 45 percent accurate,” Smith said. “They use an antibody
response test, but peoples’ bodies react differently to the disease
and additionally if you test too early, there may not be enough antibodies.”
Cases of Lyme disease
that meet a certain criteria set by the CDC are then reported. The criteria
is very narrow and does not include all symptoms for diagnosis. The problem
here is doctors use this criteria to diagnose patients, Smith said.
“The CDC clearly
states this criteria is not to be used for diagnosis,” Smith said.
“But doctors are still using it so many cases are not getting diagnosed
or reported.”
Not only is the disease
possibly being inaccurately reported, but the numbers of ticks might be
miscalucated are as well. In Maryland, the Department of Agriculture provides
a service for tick identification.
“It’s not
a tick survey,” said Gay Williams who does the identification. “It’s
not an accurate sampling either, it’s really just a way for me to know
that people are more aware if I receive more ticks one season as compared
to previous.”
Locally, the Wicomico
County Mosquito Control Center handles ticks and other pest management,
however there is no program for tick control.
“There is not
a state that I’m aware of that does any sort of tick control,”
said David Schofield, entomologist and assistant chief for mosquito control
for the state office stationed locally in Salisbury. “It would be super
expensive so it’s something people have to do on their own.”
Schofield recommended
barrier spray for home property with insecticide that kills ticks but is
safe for animals and humans. Repellent along with proper attire when going
outside is also necessary.
King said the Lyme
Disease Association is making efforts to work with private land owners to
purchase deer feeders that will kill ticks.
But even when precautions
are taken, tick bites need to be taken seriously and people should always
consult their physician or the Lyme Disease Association, King said. The
Lyme Disease Association can direct potential patients to expert doctors
if they have symptoms but feel they are not being properly diagnosed locally.
Physicians are also
advised by the association to become as educated as possible about the disease.
The association holds local educational meetings and ILADS holds conferences
all over the country.
Andrews said the association
had meetings last week with legislators in an attempt to get laws made and
passed that would protect doctors and patients who are dealing with the
long-term treatment of late-stage Lyme disease. We’ve been monitoring
the laws in other states and a few states have bills,” Andrews said.
“We want to provide state protection for the people of Maryland because
the state is fast becoming one of the worst for Lyme disease, which is only
partially documented by the CDC.”
Smith said states such
as Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey either
already have laws in place or are in the process of passing them.
“With a disease
of this nature unfortunately its up to patients to keep themselves educated,”
Smith said. “They need to go online and research the disease, continue
looking to their newspapers for local support groups and become as educated
as they can.”
For more information
on support groups and Lyme Disease conferences, visit www.ilads.org
or www.lymediseaseassociation.org.
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