Hudson Valley at Increased Risk of Tick Bites and Lyme Disease
When Elaine Stores sent her kids out to play in her Haverstraw backyard this June, she didn’t think she was putting her 4-year-old daughter’s life in danger.
“It’s just scary how fast everything happened. One day she just woke up from a nap and couldn’t move half of her face,” said Stores. It wasn’t until they were in the emergency room later that day that Stores learned a tick, hiding behind her daughter’s ear, had infected her with Lyme disease and paralyzed her facial muscles.
Their story has become uncomfortably familiar for many families in the Hudson Valley as Lyme disease continues to ravage the region. Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorfi, is increasing in numbers. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of new cases in the U.S. each year is quickly approaching 30,000, most of those in the Northeast.
The Hudson Valley has been hit especially hard in recent years. Rates of Lyme disease in the region are two to three times higher than rates in upstate New York, reports Alison Kaufman, public health advisor in the Communicable Disease Division at the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health. In fact, from 2000 to 2014, nearly half of the cases in New York state came from the Hudson Valley, according to the CDC. Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Westchester counties were four of the five counties in the state with the highest number of new Lyme disease cases.
The region’s human interference is what puts it especially at risk, according to Dr. Richard Ostfeld, disease ecologist for The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. He says the spread of suburban neighborhoods into dense woods has fragmented natural forests and ecosystems. This not only drives away predators that kill natural tick hosts like mice and deer, but it also puts families in the middle of tick habitats. “We’re creating risky environments by splitting up forests and living there. We’re looking at a worst case scenario right now,” said Ostfeld.
Dr. Ostfeld has been collecting data on ticks and Lyme disease in Dutchess county since this spring. He said his team had been finding a lot of black-legged ticks this summer, but has not been able to analyze any numbers yet.
We won’t know for months how the Hudson Valley fared this summer, but experts predicted months ago that it would be a particularly dangerous year for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses in the area. Ostfeld said a rare 2015 bumper crop of acorns allowed for a surge in the numbers of white-footed mice in 2016. “It was the biggest mouse population we’ve seen since the early 1990s,” said Ostfeld. Mice, which are the main source of the Lyme disease pathogen, serve as hosts to black-legged ticks, so they provided ample opportunity for ticks to breed and grow in population in time for this summer.
While official numbers may not be in yet, many in the healthcare field have noticed an increase in Lyme disease patients this year, including Poughkeepsie Pulse-MD Urgent Care Operator Kayla Riedinger. “There have been a lot of calls this summer, definitely more than last year. It’s kind of surprising how many cases we get, but they come in, and we can treat them,” said Riedinger, a two-year call center veteran.
That treatment typically involves a course of strong antibiotics like doxycycline or amoxicillin, according to Dr. Daniel Cameron, a Mt. Kisco, N.Y. based physician specializing in Lyme disease. He treats many patients from the Hudson Valley, and also confirmed that he’s seen more cases than in the past, but stresses that Lyme disease has always been more prevalent than most realize. “A lot of patients are surprised to learn how many of their neighbors and friends have the disease as well.” said Cameron.
Cameron believes that many people don’t realize how serious the disease can be. He said that while the disease can be treated if caught early, it can also develop into severe long-term symptoms including: mood issues, arthritis, chronic fatigue and suicidal thoughts. The facial paralysis that Stores’ daughter developed is also on that list, though it’s very rare and is typically treatable. With the help of aggressive physical therapy, her daughter is starting to rebuild her facial muscles. “I’m so grateful that we were able to catch it before it did irreparable damage, but it’s terrifying to think of what could have happened,” said Stores.
To protect yourself, Dr. Cameron stressed the importance of knowing what early symptoms to look for so the disease can be treated immediately. The CDC estimates that only 10 percent of cases are ever actually reported, likely due to the flu-like symptoms that appear in the early stages of the disease: fatigue, joint aches, headache.
Other signs also include swollen lymph nodes and a red bullseye-like rash that occurs at the site of infection called Erythema Migrans. “The rash is the most tell-tale sign because it occurs in about 70 to 80 percent of people,” said Kaufman.
While areas of work in Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment are very active in the region, Kaufman said that they are still being researched so the key to a healthier region is prevention. While grassy or wooded areas may be difficult to avoid, you can take steps to protect yourself from infection, including: wearing DEET-based bug spray and clothing that’s fitted around the ankles and wrists. You can find other helpful prevention methods here.
“If I could go back, knowing what I do now, I would be able to save [my daughter] so much pain,” said Stores. “I can’t stress enough to people, especially parents, to read up on Lyme. It might save someone’s life.”
