Lyme Cases exploding in Massachusetts

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Lyme Cases Exploding in Massachusetts

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Fall River is Southcoast Massachusetts Bristol county one of the Highest rate in

the country right now.

By Rosner on May 4, 2008 in General News, Geographic Incidence

The state of Massachusetts (MA) has consistently ranked in the top ten states in

the US in reported Lyme disease cases; however its numbers are decidedly on the

rise. In 2005, for example, MA ranked 4th nationwide in case numbers with 2,341

reported Lyme cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a

46% increase over 2004 numbers. Nationally, the reported cases totaled 23,305,

an 18% increase in numbers.

The largest increases in MA were seen in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Middlesex

Counties. The majority of confirmed cases had onsets in June, July and August.

The average age for a confirmed Lyme disease case was 39 years. The highest

reported incidence rates were among children aged 5-9 years and adults aged

60-64 years, and 35% of confirmed cases did not report an EM rash.

 

As you can see, Lyme disease cases have been sharply on the rise in MA from

1990-2005:

 

Here is a further breakdown of Lyme cases in MA per county:

County* (unknown for 16 cases) 2005 Confirmed Cases (#) Incidence Rate (per

100,000)

Barnstable 229 101.

1

Berkshire 66 50.

1

Bristol 148 27.

1

Dukes 90 577.

2

Essex 254 34.

4

lin 24 33.

2

Hampden 118 25.

6

Hampshire 68 44.

3

Middlesex 444 30.

4

Nantucket 29 285.

2

Norfolk 252 38.

6

Plymouth 320 65

Suffolk 45 6.

9

Worcester 238 30.

4

State Total 2341 36.

3

Given that the national average incidence is 8.

24, you can see that MA has quite a high number of Lyme cases!

Local MA Resources

Lyme and Tick borne Disease Support Group for Teens on April 29 from 7-9 pm at

St. ’s Church basement, 50 Union St., Hamilton, MA. The support group is

intended for teens ages 12-18. For more information, please contact Kriste or

Brao at runkickski@....

CONCORD MA will schedule Support Group sessions the fourth Thursday

of the month: Jan 24, Feb. 28, and March 27, 2008.

The sessions are scheduled for 7 pm in the Concord Library, 129 Main

St.

, Concord and are open to those interested in sharing their

experiences, learning more about research and legislation, and

sources of information on the Internet.

Contact Rose

at (978) 369-2396 Rose Ruze roseruze@...

=============

Cape Cod Lyme Support Group

Meets Once a Month on Sunday

(dates vary)

3-4:30 p.m.

Church of the Covenant

Satucket Rd.

in Brewster

: nbwood@...

===============

South Shore Lyme Support

southshorelyme@...

Kerins

617-827-5805

(people are welcome to call me)

May 5 th

Special meeting starts at 6pm

June 2 nd

July 14 th

August 4th These meetings 6:30-7:45 pm

Sept 1st

Oct 6th

Nov 3rd

Dec 1st

Plymouth county

(617)827-5805

Kerins

The location that the meetings will be held is the community room at:

Whitman Public Library

100 Webster Street

Whitman Massachusetts 02382

==============

For MA Support Contact:

Mimi Winer at

508-358-5013

Worcester County

contact: Dawn at 978-597-2726

dgipa@...

Plymouth MA

contact: Janet 508-866-9476

Islington, MA.

contact: at

2lymehelp@...

Massachusetts Lyme Disease Coalition/

Cape Cod Lyme Disease Awareness Association*

Coughlan

Mashpee/Falmouth, MA

(508) 563-7033

Lower Cape LD Support Group*

Diane Heart/Marci Rose

Brewster/Chatham, MA

(508) 896-6189/(508) 292-9237

Outer Cape LD Support Group*

Carolyn Tacke

Truro, MA

(508) 487-2720

New Bedford Lyme Support Friends*

Chasse

New Bedford, MA

(508) 979-7859

Westport-Fall River LD Support Group*

Polly Emilitas, Janice Dey & Beth Herosy

Westport, MA

(508) 636-3184

Westwood LD Resource Line*

Maureen O’Brien R.N.

Westwood, MA

(781) 251-2521

Boston Lyme Disease Resource Line*

Kerry Kineavy, RN

So.

Boston, MA

(617) 268-3767

Central Mass.

LD Family Resource Ctr*

Eileen

Webster, MA

(508) 943-2692

Western Mass.

LD Resource Line*

Marci Linker

Florence, MA

E-Mail: Woodi16@...

Epidemiology and Detailed Information

According to the latest statistics from the MA Department of Public Health, the

areas of highest incidence are Cape Cod and Southeastern MA, Nantucket and

Martha’s Vineyard, Essex County north of Boston, and towns along the Middlesex

and Worcester county border, along the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, and in

southern Berkshire County.

Recorder. com on July 30 reported that University of MA, Amherst, researcher

Rich, who has NIH grant to study ticks in MA, discovered a thriving

population of deer ticks halfway up Mount Greylock, one of the coldest areas in

the state. â€Deer ticks used to be limited primarily to a 15-mile zone along

the coast of New England,†says Rich. â€Now they are moving much farther

inland as they seemingly adapt to the cold.

â€

To understand the ramifications of the numbers, one needs to know that the CDC

has indicated that only 10% of the cases that meet its surveillance criteria are

actually reported, so that means about 23,410 cases of Lyme disease that met the

CDC surveillance criteria occurred in MA in 2005, and 233,050 Americans who fit

the surveillance criteria developed Lyme disease nationally. No one is tracking

the numbers of cases that do not meet the surveillance criteria, cases that are

physician-diagnosed clinically and the ones that most often develop into chronic

disease. Estimates range from 10-15 to 40% of Lyme cases develop into chronic

disease (cases that have failed a standard treatment course and continue to be

symptomatic).

According to the CDC, the average annual incidence in the 10 highest states for

the recent three-year period was 29.2 cases per 100,000 population, although the

target of Healthy People 2010 was 9.7 new cases per 100,000 in the 10 states ,

researchers reported. 61% of the cases were children.

During the 2003-2005, CDC figures showed that 93% of the cases (59,770) in the

country occurred in 10 endemic states: Connecticut, Delaware, land,

Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and

Wisconsin. Lyme cases per 100,000 population in the 10 states went from 29.1 in

2003 to 31.6 in 2005. From 2003 to 2005, three counties nationally had annual

rates above 300 cases per 100,000 population in all three years: Columbia and

Dutchess Counties in New York and Dukes County in Massachusetts.

Other tick-borne disease are on the rise in MA and nationally. MA Health

Department figures show tularemia, 7 reported cases in MA; babesiosis, cases

increased by almost 7 fold since inception of reporting in 1990; and

ehrlichiosis, increased almost 5 fold since its 1997 reporting inception.

Considering many doctors do not look for these co-infections transmitted by the

bite of the Ixodes scapularis (deer) tick that transmits Lyme disease, these

numbers should trigger concern among MA officials.

In 2005, the Assembly held two public hearings to address the issue. The first

hearing, State House Health Chairman Koutoujian hosted a hearing in Ayer, MA.

The LDA was invited to be part of a public panel which heard hours of testimony

from state residents on their experiences with Lyme disease. LDA was asked to

submit to Mr. Koutoujian a letter containing recommendations to the State of MA

(copy included). October 12, 2005, the Joint Massachusetts Legislative Committee

on Public Health convened a more extensive hearing in Boston. Over 250 people

attended. The LDA was asked to provide a panel of doctor experts whose testimony

was followed by hours of citizen testimony. Most testimony was personal stories

on Lyme and the inability to be diagnosed or treated and going out of state to

get treatment. Many mentioned the lack of a definitive test and also lack of

protection for treating physicians, and the refusal of insurance companies to

reimburse when they

were able to get treatment.

The following are bills introduced in the MA legislature in 2007 (note: LDA to

sit on commission in H3883).

In January, H 3768, by Mr. Webster of Hanson, petition of K. Webster and

Cleon H. Promoting education and access to medical care for persons with

Lyme disease; No physician is subject to disciplinary action by the board solely

for prescribing long-term antibiotic treatment for a patient clinically

diagnosed with Lyme disease, if this diagnosis and treatment plan is documented

in the medical record for that patient. The department shall provide statewide

Lyme disease education for physicians, schools and the general public, promote

detection prevention and treatment programs for tick-borne diseases and work

with graduate medical and nursing programs and establish an appropriate

curriculum. It will perform cost-benefit analyses on insurance coverage of long

term antibiotic care for Lyme disease patients; shall promulgate regulations for

the lab detection of Lyme disease, for the state of art testing protocol and

shall develop clinical

provider training programs for the assessment and treatment of tick-borne

illnesses.

A public hearing is scheduled for H3768 on September 12. The Chairwoman of the

Cape & Islands Task Force named a special subcommittee to discuss this bill,

seek input, and provide suggestions to the Health Committee at the scheduled

Hearing. This subcommittee meeting will be held on Sept. 6 in Barnstable.

FY 08 Budget Amendments Health & Human Services, EHS 782 COMPREHENSIVE LYME

DISEASE STUDY:

Mr. Tarr, along with Mr. O’Leary, moved that the bill be amended, in Section

2, in item 4510-0600, by adding at the end thereof the following: “provided

further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended for a comprehensive study

on Lyme disease.

â€

H3883: To create a special commission to investigate study of Lyme disease −

$75,000 Funding. Study shall include the review of costs and benefits associated

with(1) establishing a Massachusetts Center for Lyme Disease; (2) conducting a

Lyme disease public health clinical screening study in high risk regions; (3)

developing education materials and training resources for clinical providers and

school health personnel for detecting signs and symptoms of tick borne illnesses

in school aged populations. Commission shall provide a report to legislative

committees of the results of its investigation along with recommendations, if

any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry its recommendations

into effect no later than February 1, 2008.

(A language change took place circa July 24) The Amendment is now part of H3883

and the Hearing to Fund the Lyme Commission (above) has already been held.

Representatives Callahan of Sutton, Hill of Ipswich, Koutoujian of Waltham,

Grant of Beverly, L’Italien of Andover, Garry of Dracut, Loscocco of

Holliston, Webster of Hanson, of Dennis move to amend the bill by adding

the following section:

Representatives Callahan of Sutton, Hill of Ipswich, Koutoujian of Waltham,

Grant of Beverly, L’Italien of Andover, Garry of Dracut, Loscocco of

Holliston, Webster of Hanson, of Dennis move to amend the bill by adding

the following section: “SECTION __. Resolved, that a special commission, to

consist of two members of the senate, three members of the house of

representatives, the commissioner of the department of public health or his

designee, the commissioner of education or designee, the chancellor of the

university of Massachusetts medical school or his designee, the director of the

state laboratory institute or designee, the state epidemiologist or designee,

and three persons to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a

representative of the Cape and Islands Lyme Disease Task Force, one who shall be

a member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the International Lyme and Associated

Diseases Society, and one who shall be a

representative of the Lyme Disease Association is hereby established for the

purpose of making an investigation and study of Lyme Disease.

HB 1081:The Commonwealth of Massachusetts petition of Theodore C. Speliotis 2007

AN ACT RELATIVE TO LYME DISEASE TREATMENT COVERAGE − mandatory insurance

coverage for Lyme disease treatment.

Tags: Barnstable, berkshire, bristol, counties, county, dukes, essex, hampden,

lyme disease, massachusetts, middlesex, nantucket, norfolk, suffolk