Lyme Disease Map

Written By: admin

Published Date: October 10, 2018 Last Edited: October 9, 2018

John

According to a study conducted in May 2017, researchers were able to study over 12 million Lyme disease tests on dog which were gotten from about 48 states in the US between 2011 and 2015 and they used this information to develop forecast maps which were an indication of how rampant the disease had been in different locations in the USA in the past.

Image: PLOS ONE

Based on the maps created by NCBI, it was found out that the Northeastern part of the USA was considered a very likely location to the tick which was a vector for Borrelia burgdorferi (causative bacteria of Lyme disease). However, according to the map, the disease-carrying tick is also found in certain Midwestern states. The tick and occurrence of Lyme disease are majorly found in parts of the US such as California, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, and North Dakota.

It is vital that you note that the research was focused mainly on the Lyme disease in dogs by testing about 4 million dogs. However, researchers have clearly stated that the finding of this study can be used to effectively predict how prevalent the disease will be in people too.

Dogs are the main carries for the disease and are majorly responsible for infections in humans with about 250,880 dogs testing positive for the disease as of 2015. Research has shown that there is a strong connection between Lyme disease in dogs and the Lyme disease in human.

According to NCBI, studies using spatial scanning were carried out to determine places of incidence of the Lyme disease

In conclusion, the essential thing is to watch for the symptoms of the Lyme disease, regardless of the location you find yourself. If you find yourself suffering from any of the symptoms of the disease (such as fatigue, low fever, and achy muscles or joints), a visit to the hospital will be the best for you. Negligence to the Lyme disease may lead to more chronic conditions related to cardiac, nervous and muscular problems.

Lyme Disease Stages

The Lyme disease is a progressive illness which occurs in three initial stages and leads to a chronic fourth stage. The stages of the disease may last for some months or years. The disease may sometimes be undetected in the body.

Stage 1

The symptoms of the Lyme disease may begin to manifest just a few days or weeks after getting bitten. A lot of times, the tick bite goes unnoticed due to the size of the tick and painless nature of the bite.

The first stage is also known as “early localized Lyme disease” and may last for about 1-4 weeks.

Symptoms: These symptoms include a circular expanding rash, fever, chills, joint and muscle pain, stiff neck, headache, fatigue and other flu-like symptoms.
The rash may disappear after four weeks, but other symptoms will continue. If untreated it proceeds to stage 2

Stage 2

This stage is referred to as the Early Disseminated Lyme Disease. It may occur for weeks to months after infection.

Symptoms: The symptoms include flu-like symptoms similar or worse than stage 1, swollen lymph nodes or glands, fatigue, sore throat, visual problems, facial paralysis, numbness of the bite area, heart palpitations.

The disease is more noticeable at this stage.

Stage 3

This stage is referred to as Late Disseminated Lyme disease. This stage may occur months or years after the initial tick bite. This stage will occur if stage 1 and 2 are untreated.
Symptoms: These symptoms include a severe headache, heart arrhythmia, mental disturbance, partial or temporary amnesia, auditory challenges, forgetfulness, extreme fatigue, temporary facial paralysis, numbness in limbs.

Stage 4

This stage is referred to as the Chronic Lyme Disease and is also known as chronic Lyme arthritis. This stage occurs as a recurrent type of joint inflammation which commonly affects the knee joint.

Symptoms: These symptoms include swelling, redness and fluid buildup.