Officials cite rise in Lyme disease

Residents and health officials in Medfield, Millis, Sharon and Westwood have created an informal committee in recent weeks to stress the growing danger of Lyme disease in Greater Boston's wooded suburbs.

Lester Hartman , a member of the committee who is a pediatrician with offices in Mansfield and Westwood, said he has treated between 75 and 100 cases of early-stage Lyme disease since late 2004, including cases from Dover, Medfield, Sharon, and Norfolk. Hartman said he has also treated a number of children with complications from late-stage Lyme disease.

"I've been in practice 20 years, and I've had more in the last three years than I've had in the prior 17 years combined," Hartman said. "It's had a stark, stark rise."

Hartman has given cards to area school nurses that children can hang in their showers, reminding them to look and feel for ticks.

Ticks must be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit the disease, so removing them promptly dramatically reduces the risk of infection.

Hartman and other members of the committee, which also includes local health board members and parents, have also discussed making a DVD about Lyme disease prevention and playing it on local cable stations.

"The good news is, it's curable," Hartman said. "The bad news is, if you don't catch it early, it's a lot more work to cure it."

In its early stages, Lyme disease, which initially causes a rash and flu-like symptoms, can be treated with oral antibiotics.

If left untreated, it can affect the joints, the nervous system, and the heart. Some patients develop arthritis or facial paralysis, while others experience heart arrhythmia or a form of meningitis.

The period between May and early autumn is the peak season for transmission of the disease, experts say.

In 2005 , the most recent year for which statistics are available, the state reported 2,341 confirmed cases of Lyme disease, a 46 percent jump from the previous year. Boston's western suburbs were hit particularly hard, with Norfolk and Middlesex counties showing some of the largest increases in the state.

In 2005, officials reported 696 cases in the two counties, up from 394 the year before. In 1995, the area accounted for only 42 cases.

When infectious disease expert Sam Telford stopped by the Rocky Woods reservation in Medfield this spring before giving a talk to residents about Lyme disease, he hoped to find a few of the deer ticks that transmit the bacteria that causes the illness.

In an hour, he picked up about 100.

"Five years ago, even, it was much more difficult to actually find ticks within the 495/128 belt," said Telford, an assistant professor at Tufts University. "There's been a change."

Telford said that rapid development in the western suburbs has likely contributed to the increased prevalence of deer ticks.

"Deer are pushed into smaller and smaller spaces, and deer ticks accumulate in those spaces," Telford said.

Robert Deblinger , deputy director of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said the western suburbs are home to 20 to 25 deer per square mile, making the area third in the state, behind the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard -- long considered hotbeds for Lyme disease -- and the North Shore.

Deblinger said he would like to see the deer population in the area reduced to 10 to 15 per square mile, but hunting restrictions make it a goal that may be difficult to reach.

"We have enough hunters to do the job," Deblinger said. "It's just a matter of getting them to the right areas."

Donna Rheaume , spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health, said her agency will continue to stress preventive measures, such as wearing bug repellent and long sleeves and pants in the woods, and checking for ticks.

"These simple precautions really will go a long way," she said.