Dear RM Agents and Readers,

Below might be a great example to help our communities; stop waiting for the savior in all things and lets help ourselves.

Many Blessings,
CrystalRiver

As The CDC and Public Health Have Let Us Down

http://www.pikecountycourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20160608%2FNEWS01%2F160609944%2F-1%2Fnews01

Working together on tick-borne diseases a 'matter of life and death'

PUBLISHED JUN 8, 2016 AT 12:57 PM (UPDATED JUN 9, 2016)

By Anya Tikka

DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — Tick-borne disease is spreading at an alarming rate, causing multiple and often misdiagnosed illnesses all over Pike County, local experts warn.

Mikki Weiss, chair of the Pike County Tick Borne Disease Task Force, and Dr. Robert Ollar, a microbiologist and researcher in the field, last month asked Dingman Township supervisors and the community for help gathering information about the different ways tick bites affect health. Weiss and Ollar described a frightening array of tick-borne illnesses that can resemble other neurological disorders, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), Alzheimer's, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The state health department is refusing to do anything about the epidemic, they agreed, and even the federal government is unsupportive.

“It’s reaching epidemic proportions," Weiss said. "This is an immensely important topic. We’ll give you an overview of the situation. It is a matter of life and death, and we need your help. There’s definitely a way of working together as a community in Pike County.”

Lots more research into the multiple symptoms and treatments associated with tick-borne diseases must be done, they said.

“If you know people who have been diagnosed, we’re asking that you please help us," said Weiss.

Ticks carry many pathogens, she explained. Doctors test patients for some, but not all, pathogens, leaving others undetected.

“It’s an epidemic around the world,” said Weiss.

Many local health professionals don’t know the facts, she said. And so much more attention is given to Ebola and Zika virus, which are far easier to suppress, she said.

"The facts are, tick borne disease untreated can kill you," Weiss said. "It can be transmitted to children. Children are born with it. You live with it. We have a very critical situation in our commonwealth.”

Ollar said data about Pike County "is insignificant at this point."

"We’re only now starting to get phone calls as result of our presentations and meetings," he said. "It’s more complicated than dealing with AIDS. We feel if we can get 10 cases from each town, we have a good solid basis for research.”

Dingman population at risk

Ollar said Dingman's population, at about 12,000 year 'round, with many more in summer, is the largest around.

“We don’t know how many Dingman and Pike residents are affected," he said. "Research is not being funded by the Department of Health. It’s outrageous that we have this epidemic.”

He gave an analogy to put the problem into perspective.

“Envision a four-foot poisonous deadly snake on your porch, but your door and widows are closed," he said. "In your basement there are termites that are devouring your home. Most people would be more afraid of the snake than the termites, but that’s what’s happening here.”

Dingman Supervisors Chair Tom Mincer and other supervisors agreed that everyone knows someone who has been infected by ticks.

“We don’t have a hospital here, so people go to New York, New Jersey and Scranton for diagnosis and treatment," Mincer said. "This doesn’t give us accurate numbers in Pike."

Tick-borne illnesses even affect dogs, like Mincer’s own, who suffered from pancreatic problems.

Getting local doctors onboard

Weiss said the task force continues to try to get local services and doctors onboard.

"We are dealing with the entire picture, trying to suppress it everywhere," Weiss said. "Bottom line, we need to get all the knowledge as to what we need to do to change this. I’m happy to say at this point Wayne Memorial is going to be offering services here. Hopefully, we can have Pike County residents helped. We ask supervisors to come together so everybody’s on the same page, and recommend the services Department of Health is recommending.”

Ollar said tick-borne diseases affect people who never set foot in the woods because some blood supplies have been tainted. Infants get these diseases in utero.

There’s no cure for tick-borne disease, although Lyme disease can be treated with intravenous drugs.

“Technology is not up to speed," Ollar said. "We don’t know how to monitor the effectiveness of treatment."

The task force is setting up an exchange of medical professionals and to develop a document about options.

“There’s no manual or document of recommendations in Pennsylvania," Ollar said. "You have to look it up online from New Jersey and New York, although we lead the nation in number of cases. Yet don’t have a manual for doctors."

But there is good news in all this, too. Ollar said Pike County's task force is "functioning better and doing more than any other endeavor around the Commonwealth.” Local schools are also now involved, he said.

“We have a model program for the rest of PA, and with little resources we can put together a program, collaborating, and trying to get research done," Ollar said. "We in Pike County are on our own.”

A task force questionnaire is available at the Pocono Environmental Education Center. For more information call 570-296-3569.
“It’s reaching epidemic proportions...and we need your help. There’s definitely a way of working together as a community in Pike County.”
Mikki Weiss, Pike County Tick Borne Disease Task Force

Tick-borne diseases in the U.S.

In the United States, some ticks carry pathogens that can cause human disease, including:
Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. Most human cases of babesiosis in the U.S. are caused by Babesia microti. Babesia microti is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and is found primarily in the northeast and upper midwest.
Borrelia mayonii infection has recently been described as a cause of illness in the upper midwestern United States. It has been found in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Borrelia mayonii is a new species and is the only species besides B. burgdorferi known to cause Lyme disease in North America.
Borrelia miyamotoi infection has recently been described as a cause of illness in the U.S. It is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and has a range similar to that of Lyme disease.
Colorado tick fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni). It occurs in the the Rocky Mountain states at elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet.
Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to humans by the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found primarily in the southcentral and eastern U.S.
Heartland virus infection has been identified in eight patients in Missouri and Tennessee as of March 2014. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks may transmit the virus. It is unknown if the virus may be found in other areas of the U.S.
Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern U.S. and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
Powassan disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the groundhog tick (Ixodes cookei). Cases have been reported primarily from northeastern states and the Great Lakes region.
Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis is transmitted to humans by the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum).
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is transmitted by the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sangunineus) in the U.S. The brown dog tick and other tick species are associated with RMSF in Central and South America.
STARI (Southern tick-associated rash illness) is transmitted via bites from the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found in the southeastern and eastern U.S.
Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected soft ticks. TBRF has been reported in 15 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and is associated with sleeping in rustic cabins and vacation homes.
Tularemia is transmitted to humans by the dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Tularemia occurs throughout the U.S.
364D rickettsiosis (Rickettsia phillipi, proposed) is transmitted to humans by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis ticks). This is a new disease that has been found in California.
Source: Centers for Disease Control (CDC): cdc.gov/ticks/diseases