Massachusetts Region Reports Spike in Lyme Disease Cases

MetroWest Medical Center’s infectious disease clinic chief says he has seen a huge increase in Lyme disease cases this summer.
 
“It’s unbelievable,” said Dr. Thomas Treadwell. “There’s been days when I’ve seen five or six cases a day.”
 
Treadwell has not done a firm count, but said he has treated several dozen cases of the tick-borne infection, about two or three times more than last summer.

The danger areas appear to be in Southborough, Callahan State Park in Framingham and areas along the Charles River, Treadwell said. The disease’s prevalence may be related to infection rates in rodents, since deer ticks contract the disease from rodents, such as field mice, before passing it on to humans, he said.

Statewide, Lyme disease cases appear to be about the same as last year, though some areas are experiencing high infection rates, said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of the state Department of Public Health’s epidemiology program.

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Source: Dover-Sherborn Press