Two Virginia counties are looking for new ways to combat the spread of ticks and the Lyme disease they bring with them.
Fairfax County is in the beginning stages of a pilot program to test the effectiveness of “four poster deer treatment stations,” which rub feeding deer with tick-killing chemicals, said county wildlife biologist Vicky Monroe.
In Loudoun County, Supervisor Jim Burton — who has contracted Lyme disease twice — is leading an effort to start a similar program.
Here are some helpful tips for how to avoid ticks and Lyme disease:
» Avoid wooded and bushy areas with leaf litter.
» Be especially careful in June and July, months when Lyme-infected ticks are most active.
» Use insect repellent with 20 to 30 percent DEET on exposed skin and clothing.
» Wear long pants, long sleeves and long socks. Tuck pants into socks.
» Health care providers recommend checking for ticks immediately after being outdoors.
» “What you’re looking for is a new freckle or a freckle with legs on it,” Fairfax County Health Supervisor Gorge Arias said.
» If a tick is attached to skin for less than 24 hours, contracting Lyme is unlikely.
» For more information, visit cdc.gov/lyme
“I’m optimistic [about the project] because Lyme disease is a serious issue in Loudoun,” said Burton, I-Blue Ridge.
Loudoun County has the most Lyme disease per capita than any other county in Virginia, Burton said.
The state has seen more than 900 cases of Lyme disease every year for the past three years, with the majority in Northern Virginia, said David Gaines, Virginia’s state public health entomologist. The numbers spiked in 2007 and have remained at “high levels” ever since.
Loudoun County saw 201 cases of Lyme in 2009, said Loudoun Health District Director David Goodfriend. That’s down 15 percent from 2008’s 235 cases.
Fairfax County had 260 reported cases of Lyme in 2009, said Fairfax County’s environmental health supervisor, Jorge Arias. The number has remained steady for the past several years, Arias said, but is up from the first part of the decade, following the statewide trend.
Maryland has more Lyme disease than Virginia. The state had 2,216 confirmed and probable cases of Lyme in 2008, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The numbers jumped from 1,248 in 2006 to 2,576 in 2007 — far more than the 688 reported cases in 2000.
Maryland has more Lyme disease than Virginia. The state had 2,216 confirmed and probable cases of Lyme in 2008, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The numbers jumped from 1,248 in 2006 to 2,576 in 2007 — far more than the 688 reported cases in 2000.
The increase in Lyme disease may be caused by suburban sprawl, Gaines said.
He said ticks breed on deer, which thrive in the young woods and backyards of subdivisions. The deer ticks pick up Lyme from white-footed mice, and go on to pass the disease to the humans the ticks bite.
Gaines and Arias agreed individual awareness and protection are the best bets when it comes to preventing Lyme disease.
“Without some magic bullet to eliminate the deer population, that’s about all that can be done,” Gaines said.
