Massachusetts is second only to Maine in terms of Lyme disease, with 54.1 cases per 100,000 residents in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s 3,646 confirmed and 1,658 probable cases in the state in 2014.
Athol Hospital outreach and public health nurse Pam Jobst said now is a good time to start thinking about Lyme disease, as the mild winter brings more people into contact with ticks and the first big yardwork days approach.
Like much of Franklin County, the North Quabbin region is home to forests, crumbling stone walls and the tick-ridden deer and mice that inhabit them, but Jobst cautions that you don’t have to be a hiker to meet ticks. Many in the region burn wood for warmth, and wood piles are perfect homes for mice that carry the disease-carrying ticks.
Jobst advises use of products containing the tick-killer permethrin on shoes and outdoor gear, and said it can also now be found in tubes of material designed to be left out for mice to line their nests.
A tick check should include particular attention to areas between the toes, the back of the knees, groin, armpits, neck, along the hairline, and behind the ears, the Department of Public Health advises. Any ticks found attached to skin should be promptly removed with fine-tipped tweezers; do not crush the insect or leave its head imbedded under the skin.
The DPH recommends that anyone bitten monitor themselves for the appearance of rash, fever or other unusual symptoms and immediately seek the advice of a health care provider should any symptoms occur.
Lyme disease is often but not always accompanied by a bull’s-eye rash.