Lyme disease on uptick in Oneida Co.

Tiny ticks are making a big impact in Oneida County, causing almost five times more cases of Lyme disease than last year.

The Oneida County Health Department reported this week that 56 cases have been confirmed in the county this year, 30 of them in July. That compares to 14 cases last year.

“We’re definitely seeing a sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2013,” said Phyllis Ellis, director of the county health department.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced earlier this month that an estimated 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, 10 times the number that gets officially reported to the CDC.

But Lyme disease is not the only tick-borne threat in New York. News reports have said that officials believe the rare and frequently fatal Powassan virus might have caused the death of a Poughkeepsie teen earlier this month.

New York had 13 Powassan cases between 2002 and 2012, according to the CDC. Babesiosis, a parasite similar to malaria, also has infected New Yorkers with 418 cases in 2011, the majority of them downstate, according to the CDC.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has expressed concern over the growing number of cases of tick-borne illnesses. He has asked the CDC to study the Powassan virus and supports federal legislation to address the growing problem of tick-borne illnesses through research and education.

It’s not clear whether more ticks are infected with disease because no one conducts large scale surveillance programs, said Laura Harrington, professor and chairwoman of the department of entomology at Cornell University.

But there’s definitely been an increase in the number of ticks crawling around Central and western New York, she said. The climate might have played a role. All the rain might have helped, but even high humidity helps ticks survive, Harrington said.

“Another potential factor may be warmer winters, especially fewer periods of ultra-low winter temperatures that can decrease overwintering survival of these ticks,” she said.

Humans aren’t the only ones suffering. Lyme disease has become more common in dogs, too, Harrington said. But dogs have an advantage over people; Lyme disease in dogs is preventable.

Veterinarian Alex Mora said he saw seven cases of canine Lyme a week two years ago when he was working in the Herkimer valley. Now he works for New Hartford Animal Hospital and seldom sees a case. That’s because the practice stresses prevention through vaccination and monthly flea medications that also kill ticks.

Tiny ticks are making a big impact in Oneida County, causing almost five times more cases of Lyme disease than last year.

The Oneida County Health Department reported this week that 56 cases have been confirmed in the county this year, 30 of them in July. That compares to 14 cases last year.

“We’re definitely seeing a sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2013,” said Phyllis Ellis, director of the county health department.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced earlier this month that an estimated 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, 10 times the number that gets officially reported to the CDC.

But Lyme disease is not the only tick-borne threat in New York. News reports have said that officials believe the rare and frequently fatal Powassan virus might have caused the death of a Poughkeepsie teen earlier this month.

New York had 13 Powassan cases between 2002 and 2012, according to the CDC. Babesiosis, a parasite similar to malaria, also has infected New Yorkers with 418 cases in 2011, the majority of them downstate, according to the CDC.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has expressed concern over the growing number of cases of tick-borne illnesses. He has asked the CDC to study the Powassan virus and supports federal legislation to address the growing problem of tick-borne illnesses through research and education.

It’s not clear whether more ticks are infected with disease because no one conducts large scale surveillance programs, said Laura Harrington, professor and chairwoman of the department of entomology at Cornell University.

But there’s definitely been an increase in the number of ticks crawling around Central and western New York, she said. The climate might have played a role. All the rain might have helped, but even high humidity helps ticks survive, Harrington said.

“Another potential factor may be warmer winters, especially fewer periods of ultra-low winter temperatures that can decrease overwintering survival of these ticks,” she said.

Humans aren’t the only ones suffering. Lyme disease has become more common in dogs, too, Harrington said. But dogs have an advantage over people; Lyme disease in dogs is preventable.

Veterinarian Alex Mora said he saw seven cases of canine Lyme a week two years ago when he was working in the Herkimer valley. Now he works for New Hartford Animal Hospital and seldom sees a case. That’s because the practice stresses prevention through vaccination and monthly flea medications that also kill ticks.

“We’re pretty surprised because we don’t see as much as we used to. So it’s working,” Mora said.

But he acknowledged that one of the biggest challenges of his career has been convincing pet owners that buying flea medication every month is beneficial to their dog’s health, not to Mora’s pockets.

The bad news is that Lyme, babesiosis and Powassan aren’t the only tick-borne illnesses out there.

“There are many different types of tick-borne infections globally that don’t occur in the U.S.,” Harrington said. “So, we need to be vigilant to ensure that they are not established here.

Follow @OD_Roth on Twitter or call her at 792-5166.