Pa. has more Lyme disease cases than any other state in the country

Between 2010 and 2019, the reported number of Lyme disease cases in Pennsylvania jumped 173% — from 3,298 to 8,998 — making Pennsylvania the state with the greatest number of Lyme disease cases in the country.

As an avid hiker, I’m a big proponent of getting outdoors. Outdoor adventures can have positive mental health effects. Our state has over one million acres of local and state parklands, over 76 natural lakes, and 2,355 miles of water trails. You could spend the entire summer visiting a new park in Pennsylvania every day and not see them all.

Still, the rising potential for infected tick bites is concerning — 36% of Pennsylvanians say that threats such as mosquitoes and ticks keep them from enjoying outdoor recreation.

Pennsylvanians can prepare for ticks before we leave the house or get to the trailhead. Use insect and tick repellents. Wear long sleeves and pants. Tuck your pants into your socks to reduce skin exposure. Carry tweezers with you. As soon as you get back inside, check your clothes and body for ticks.

If you happen to get a tick bite, remove it as soon as you can with tweezers. Grab it as close to the bite area as possible, pull, and check to make sure you’ve removed the tick’s head and body. As long as you remove the tick within 24 hours, the chances of getting Lyme disease are reduced significantly.

Even with these precautions in mind, our state needs a collective effort from community members, state legislators, and the Department of Health to address Lyme disease more effectively within the health-care system. Specifically, there is a need for better testing and access to care.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health needs to provide communities with more comprehensive tick testing. Currently, Lyme disease testing and treatment are not always covered by health insurers. Filling in this gap will give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to get help sooner and reduce long-term Lyme disease effects.

State Sen. Michele Brooks, the representative of Crawford, Erie, Mercer, and Warren Counties, has introduced Senate Bill 1188, which focuses on increasing access to testing and treatments for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. In Brooks’ legislative memorandum, she is quoted saying, “It has come to my attention that the most comprehensive testing for Lyme disease is not always being done in Pennsylvania, or not always being covered by health insurers.”

This is a problem, especially in a state that has the highest number of reported cases. As we know, insurance providers aren’t going to change unless there is specific governmental action addressing the need.

In order to prevent Lyme cases, we have to understand where the infected ticks are. Currently, there is not a national tick-monitoring program.

Richard Ostfeld, a disease ecologist, tick expert, and senior scientist at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in New York, told Wired, “We have no national tick-monitoring network setup, though people have been quietly screaming for one for years. If you’re monitoring the ticks, you’re monitoring the pathogens. And if you know where the ticks and tick-borne pathogens are, you can do a decent job of predicting where they will be soon and get out in front with campaigns of education and awareness.”

I recently spoke with Tracey O’Shea, a family nurse practitioner at the California Center for Functional Medicine. “Temperature and humidity can affect survival and host-seeking behavior of ticks,” she said. “As temperatures increase in previously uninhabited areas of the world, tick populations take root and grow.”

Sunjya Schweig, a doctor at the California Center for Functional Medicine, added that “protecting existing wildlife green space and restoring destroyed or degraded wetlands and green space can be an important step in the reduction of Lyme disease.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources conducted a public survey in August 2019. Around 80% of Pennsylvanians surveyed said they would like to participate more in outdoor activities. To help more people feel safe, the Pennsylvania Health Department and local townships can work together to provide educational materials on how to prevent and prepare for tick season.

Some of these resources already exist, but they are arguably underutilized and have not been updated in years.

In 2016 and 2017, Get Outdoors PA and the PA Lyme Resource Network teamed up to create awareness information cards on tick identification and prevention. The PA Lyme Resource Network runs a Dare 2B Tick Aware campaign that includes the “Tick Check Challenge,” a social media campaign where people can recreate a #TickCheck dance and share it on social media platforms to increase awareness about tick-borne diseases.

» READ MORE: Birding is for everyone, especially in Philadelphia | Opinion

As the weather gets warmer, look out for yourself, friends, and family. Be prepared when exploring the great outdoors this summer. But more than this, encourage others in your community and local government to recognize Lyme disease as the threat it clearly is in Pennsylvania.

Austin Anderson is an avid hiker, explorer, outdoor enthusiast, and content writer at Best Value Schools who can often be found on a trail in one of the U.S. National Parks. @andersonidea