Be Informed for Your Children
Local Pediatricians Seeing Many Lyme Disease Cases
Aug 11, 2010 4:53 pm US/Eastern, Dr. Maria Simbra
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) Pediatricians across the region are seeing a rise in Lyme disease cases this summer.
In the early stages, Lyme disease can cause a rash; and in serious cases, it can cause problems with the heart, nerves and joints.
In early July, Kim Cogley says her son, Zach, wasn’t acting like a typical 11-year-old.
“He would have a headache, and he would sleep for hours on end afterwards,” said Cogley, who is from Natrona Heights. “This persisted for two weeks, then we got really concerned something was going on, a tumor or something.”
It wasn’t a brain tumor. Instead, it was the bacterial infection, Lyme disease, caused by a deer tick bite. The tip off was a bull’s eye rash in the middle of his chest.
“Totally shocked, did not even think about Lyme disease,” said Cogley. “He had the rash. We thought it was ringworm as well as the pediatrician thought it was ringworm. We only saw the inner circle, not the outer circle.”
But Zach isn’t alone. There’s been a surge of Lyme disease this summer at Children’s Hospital.
“Usually, in the summer months, we’ll see one or two cases of Lyme disease in the course of a couple weeks,” said Dr. Marian Michaels, an infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital, “but my very first day on the inpatient service, I had four children with disease that was actually meningitis.”
The Allegheny County Health Department had only 14 cases reported in 2008 and 28 in 2009.
“This year, we already have 16 cases, and we’re on track to probably exceed last year’s total,” said spokesman Guillermo Cole. “This increasing number of Lyme disease cases may have something to do with the fact we have a growing deer population; because the deer tick is the tick that can spread Lyme.”
“It certainly heightened our awareness, and our doctors here are looking for it more frequently,” said Dr. Andrew Nowalk, an infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital.
After kids are outdoors, especially in wooded areas, parents should check them for the tiny ticks, which are the size of the tip of a pen.
The illness is treatable with antibiotics. Zach received 28 days worth at home by vein. Also, some people get a facial droop as Zach did.
“I have to think about this one to close,” he explained while pointing to his left eye, “and my smile is weird, too.”
Now, he uses bug spray all the time.
“The neighbors around us, their kids have always refused to wear tick spray or any kind of spray, so now that they’ve seen what Zach has gone through, they have started to use the tick spray when they’re outside,” said Cogley.
If you find a tick on your child’s arms or legs, on the back of their neck, their hairline or anywhere exposed, you may be okay if you remove it right away. It takes 72 hours with the tick attached to transmit the bacteria.
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