Every year, an estimated quarter of a million cases of Lyme disease is reported in the United States based on a new John Hopkins study. The Center for Diseases control (CDC) tags Northeastern and Midwestern United States as the most prevalent areas where the infection is present and the disease, which is caused by tick bites, is still escalating.
One factor contributing to the spread of Lyme disease is global warming, according to Scientific American. As the climate warms up and the world gets increasingly hotter, the ticks multiply faster, searching for new regions to thrive. These ticks are reaching places that are usually not prone to the illness, such as North Dakota. The state recently had its first cases of Lyme disease on record, according to ProHealth.
"We're arguing that ticks are on the move and becoming active earlier and earlier as the climate warms," said Richard Ostfeld, according to Scientific American. The disease ecologist and his team at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies have done researches to analyze tick behavior for the last 19 years. Their group has published their findings with Royal Society Publishing.
"These ticks are known to be expanding their ranges in a bunch of different directions, and so some of their spread doesn't seem to be correlated with climatic conditions," added Ostfeld, who said that plenty of other researchers are studying the correlation between the disease and the climate as well.
With the disease ramping up during the warmer months and with incidence increasing due to climate change, Lyme disease has become a great public health concern, especially when it can become a long-term illness.
"Our data shows that many people who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease are in fact going back to the doctor complaining of persistent symptoms, getting multiple tests and being treated," wrote Johns Hopkins study authors Emily R. Adrion, John Aucott , Klaus W. Lemke, Jonathan P. Weiner.
"They cost the health care system about $1 billion a year and it is clear that we need effective, cost-effective and compassionate management of these patients to improve their outcomes even if we don't know what to call the disease," the researchers added.
Lyme disease is characterized by symptoms like fever, rashes, headache and fatigue. When untreated for a prolonged period, it can also seriously affect the joints, the heart and the nervous system.
