Gina Czark
Monica Charleston
312-558-1770
Tiny Ticks Cause for Caution: Know the Facts
A tiny tick, about the size of a poppy seed, called the black-legged deer tick or Ixodes scapularis, is a primary carrier of the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi)
The more than 8,000 members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the nation’s leading infectious disease experts, want people to know the facts about Lyme disease and enjoy their usual outdoor activities without undue concern.
“With tick season upon us, it’s important to put Lyme disease into perspective,”
Incidence of Lyme Disease
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 20,000 people a year get Lyme disease and the vast majority are easily treated and cured with common antibiotic therapies.
Nearly all cases of Lyme disease are found in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast states. A number of cases also have been reported in Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern California. Although cases have been reported in all states, the cases that meet accepted diagnostic criteria typically involved a person who recently lived in or visited states where Lyme disease is common.
Preventing Lyme Disease
“The best method for managing Lyme disease is to avoid tick-infested areas. If exposure to ticks is unavoidable, measures should be taken to decrease the risk that ticks will attach to the skin,” Dr. Wormser said. Some simple steps to avoid the tick bites that cause Lyme disease include:
Wear protective, light-colored clothing that minimizes exposed skin and provides a contrast to ticks, making them more visible.
If you are outdoors and may have been exposed to ticks, check your entire body every day to locate and remove ticks.
Use tick and insect repellents and apply them to your exposed skin and clothing, following directions on product labels.
Treating Lyme Disease
A tick must be attached to a person for at least 24 hours before Lyme disease can be contracted. In fact, some studies suggest the tick must be attached for nearly 72 hours. Most people who are bitten by ticks do not get Lyme disease but, of those who do, seven in 10 people will develop a telltale rash, known as erythema migrans that is a clinical sign of Lyme disease. In addition to a circular, red rash surrounding the site of a tick bite, people may also have swelling in their joints and, sometimes, facial paralysis. “The symptoms are sometimes alarming, but with proper diagnosis and treatment most will disappear in a few weeks,” Dr. Wormser said.
Persons who remove attached ticks should be monitored closely for signs and symptoms of tick-borne diseases for up to 30 days. Most patients who develop Lyme disease are cured with a single course (10-28 days) of antibiotics, depending on the stage of their illness. Occasionally
a second course of treatment is necessary. More prolonged antibiotic therapy is not recommended and may be dangerous, according to Dr. Wormser.
Chronic or Post-Lyme Disease Syndrome
A few patients report a variety of non-specific symptoms such as muscle pain, joint pain or fatigue. Some have developed these symptoms following an episode of Lyme disease that was treated appropriately but the same symptoms often occur in persons who never had the disease.
A small group of physicians have diagnosed such patients as having “chronic” Lyme disease and advocate treating them with repeated or prolonged courses of oral or intravenous (IV) antibiotics, but Dr. Wormser cautioned that “there are no convincing published data showing such treatment regimens to be effective.”
Furthermore, long-term antibiotic therapy may be dangerous and it also can lead to potentially fatal infections in the bloodstream as a result of intravenous treatment. Although the bacteria that causes Lyme disease does not acquire resistance to antibiotics, long-term antibiotic exposure can lead to drug-resistance among other microorganisms, creating “superbugs”
Patients who continue to have symptoms that persist after appropriate antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease should talk to their physicians about whether the original diagnosis was accurate or if they may have a different or new illness.
The scientific data do not support a separate diagnosis of “chronic” Lyme disease, according to the 14-member panel of infectious disease clinicians and researchers who developed the IDSA’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Lyme Disease.
More information about Lyme disease—including a fact sheet for the public and practice guidelines for physicians—can be found on the IDSA website at www.idsociety.org.
IDSA is an organization of more than 8,000 physicians, scientists and other health care professionals dedicated to promoting human health through excellence in infectious diseases research, education, prevention and patient care. Major programs of IDSA include publication of two journals, The Journal of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Infectious Diseases, an Annual Meeting, awards and fellowships, public policy and advocacy, practice guidelines and other membership services. The Society was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Alexandria, VA. Visit
