Health District Board Hears Lyme Disease Report

By Jan Howard

The board of directors of the Newtown District Department of Health heard a presentation by the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force and reports from Health Director Donna McCarthy during a special meeting May 14 at its offices in Canaan House on the Fairfield Hills campus.

Kim Harrison, Maggie Shaw, and Eliza Brady-Moe of the Lyme Disease Task Force updated the board on new statistics and discussed their plans for the next year, while other members recounted their personal experiences with Lyme disease.

The task force members noted that Lyme disease, a spirochetal infection contracted from a tick bite, causes flulike symptoms. Untreated or under treated, it may cause long-term chronic illness. It was named in 1977 when symptoms were observed in a cluster of children in and around Lyme, Conn.

Connecticut leads the nation in incidence of Lyme disease, and 50 percent of reported cases involve children under the age of 12.

Ms McCarthy said she is working with the task force and providing educational and prevention information on Lyme disease to residents.

She said the Health District has received 96 ticks for testing, 37 of which had reported results. Eleven were positive, 25 were negative, and one was not a tick. She said this translates to a positive rate of 30 percent for those ticks that were submitted and analyzed.

“This is very early data, and we will be keeping a close eye on it as the results are reported,” Ms McCarthy said.

Ms McCarthy said testing of ticks takes up to three weeks now, and four to six weeks in the height of the season. Although it is useful information regarding the tick’s infectivity, it should not be used as a diagnosis. A physician should be consulted following a tick bite. People should also check themselves for ticks and properly remove ticks as quickly as possible.

During the Health District’s participation in Newtown High School’s Health Fair in April, Ms McCarthy said she distributed information on ticks, such as the Tick ID Wallet Cards from the Lyme Disease Foundation, and also had two vials with preserved ticks to show the students.

Ms McCarthy also updated the board about ongoing planning for bioterrorism and smallpox. She said she is working on a plan for a mass vaccination clinic for smallpox, which includes coordination of nursing and medical volunteers.

 She said she has met with other directors of health in the area for regional planning of the bioterrorism plan. She is also doing informational sessions with fire companies, civic groups, and the Newtown Senior Center.

“Although the perceived threat appears lower, it is important that preparedness efforts continue, so that plans can be completed, then exercised, and revised as necessary,” Ms McCarthy said. “Emergency preparedness is an on-going working process that should not be considered complete.”

Ms McCarthy said surveillance for West Nile Virus would be conducted June 1 through October 18. It will include reports of dead bird sightings and testing of some birds for the virus.

When residents find a dead bird on their property with no signs of trauma or decomposition and with eyes intact, they should put the bird in a plastic bag and place it in a bucket with some ice to keep it cool until Health District staff can collect it. There is no risk that West Nile can be transmitted from the dead bird to a human, but dead animals should not be handled without protection.

Birds the Department of Environmental Protection is most interested in are crows, jays, and ravens. Its secondary list includes doves, grackles, robins, house sparrows, and raptors.