Ticks and mosquitoes: County may add Lyme to West Nile program
CHAMBERSBURG -- Franklin County commissioners are prepared to monitor local ticks for Lyme disease.
The county is taking over the West Nile virus surveillance program next year and could add Lyme disease monitoring to the program, according to county officials. Lyme education and prevention would be included.
Chronic Lyme disease, a long-term debilitating disease, is spread by ticks.
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Mosquitoes spread West Nile and Zika viruses.
Local technicians currently test and collect mosquitoes for West Nile. They would work additional part-time hours to collect ticks for testing, according to Steve Nevada, assistant county administrator.
The state does not monitor for Lyme disease and only recently started an education program. Few counties monitor for the disease.
Pennsylvania leads the nation in confirmed cases of Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. Nearly a third of all U.S. cases in 2016 were in Pennsylvania.
The number of positive Lyme cases increased 78 percent in Pennsylvania in two years (from 2015 to 2017), according to Quest Diagnostics. The laboratory, based in New Jersey, based its findings on test results from its labs.
Nevada said the county is exploring options to help pay for the Lyme program, including grants or funding from the state Department of Health or health organizations.
The county has gone through the worst West Nile season ever.
“From 2006 to 2017, we’ve had eight cases (in humans)," Commissioner Robert Thomas said. "This year, we’ve already had eight cases in Franklin County."
The county is No. 3 in the state in the number of human cases of West Nile, behind Philadelphia and Montgomery County (10). Pennsylvania had 87 human cases, the highest number in 15 years. The disease peaked in the state in 2003 with 237 human cases.
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The virus was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2000 and the state since has budgeted money for countywide programs that monitor mosquito populations.
“This comprehensive program has been instrumental in its surveillance, testing and education regarding West Nile virus," Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller said. "The measures taken by this program to control the mosquito population in Franklin County have been successful and need to continue.”
The county is picking up the West Nile program after the Penn State Cooperative Extension said it will no longer administer it. The extension office took over the program in 2005 from the Franklin County Conservation District.
The program currently operates on a $65,172 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The county is working on a $73,000 grant for next year.
A West Nile infection can result in inflammation of the brain and can lead to death. Older adults and people with compromised immune systems are at the highest risk of becoming ill and developing severe complications. There is no specific antiviral medication or preventative vaccine for West Nile virus in humans.
Zika virus, which has yet to be found in Pennsylvania, can cause certain birth defects.
The threat of infection ends with the first frost, although the diagnoses continue into the off season.
Precautions include using an insect repellent, such as DEET, when outdoors, especially at dawn and dusk.
Residents are encouraged to remove standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
For more information on West Nile Virus in Pennsylvania, visit http://www.westnile.state.pa.us/.
Jim Hook, 717-262-4759