Jun 10, 2015 By David Singer 3 min read

Allegheny County reported 822 cases of Lyme Disease in 2014, a huge increase from 145 in 2013, according to county and state health officials. It was also the first year, according to Pa. Health Secretary Dr. Karen Murphy, that the tick-transmitted disease was reported in every county. Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Karen Hacker said some of the uptick in the disease was due to underreporting cases. The symptoms include a bullseye rash at the site of a bite, fatigue, chills, headache, muscle and joint paint and swollen lymph nodes.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reported 34 percent of deer ticks in Allegheny County that were tested came back positive for the bacteria borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme Disease.

Epidemiologist Kristen Mertz said the county’s data show young children and senior age groups reported most instances of Lyme Disease.

“The two big groups were 5-9 year-olds and 50-65 year-olds,” she said, noting it’s important for everyone to self-check and wear long-sleeved clothing in brush and grassy areas, yet these age groups may not be checking or are missing ticks.

The tick population is increasing and spreading by hitching a ride on animals like deer, mice, raccoons and birds, according to entomologist Bill Todaro.

“And you can’t prevent this at a county level like mosquitos, where you can go in, find a concentration of still water and blast them. There are pesticides you can use on your yard, but we can’t do that. The best method is repellent with longer clothing,” he said.

There aren’t vaccines for humans, but antibiotic treatments. Anti-vaccine advocates campaigned against two that were available during the 1990s, leading them to be taken off the market because of reported side effects. The latest developments on a human vaccine are coming from European drug developer Valneva, which published pre-clinical data in November 2014 that said they might be on to a vaccine within the next few years. In the meantime, however, there is a vaccine for pets.

“If your dogs aren’t vaccinated, they can be like a canary in the coal mine. That’s not to say don’t get them vaccinated, you should. But if they come down with Lyme Disease, they’ll become lame very quickly; switching legs back and forth and eventually they just stop moving around,” Todaro said, explaining that it means ticks are likely to be in your area.

Dr. Hacker clarified that the only way to contract Lyme Disease is from tick bites, and that it is not transmissible between humans or even other animals.

“You’ve got to look hard for these guys through July, because they are in their nymph stage; barely a speck of dirt,” Todaro said, “and you likely won’t notice them if they’re on you until two days later when they get full of blood.”