County leads Maryland in Lyme disease

88 cases reported in 2003

Cecil sees increase, too

`We can only do so much'

Health Department says illness not out of control

Harford County leads the state in Lyme disease, and Cecil County is not far behind.

According to county Health Department statistics, Harford had 88 confirmed cases of the disease last year. That's more than double the number in 2000.

In Cecil County, the number of victims has jumped 65 percent since 2001, an increase that Nelson K. Bolender, president of the Board of County Commissioners, called "startling." Cecil County had 51 confirmed cases last year.

Cecil County reported the third-highest number of cases last year, just behind Carroll County, which reported only two fewer victims than Harford.

"It seems like an epidemic," said Jean F. Galbreath of Street, "and the Harford County Heath Department needs to doing more in promoting the awareness of this disease."

Galbreath, 75, suffers from Lyme disease. She said it has impaired her hearing and that she suffers severe headaches, muscle pain and dizziness that sometimes makes it hard to walk in a straight line.

She is not the only member of her family to contract the disease. Her husband, William, and son, Allen, also have the disease.

The tiny community of Street in northern Harford County seems to be a hotbed of activity for the deer ticks that can carry the disease.

"Eight members of my family have had Lyme disease," said Galbreath, "and they all live within a half-mile radius."

Her next-door neighbor on Highland Road was also a victim.

Neighbors will tell of many other victims. One neighbor said her husband had Lyme disease. Shana Petty, who also lives on Highland Road, listed six other victims living nearby.

Support group

Due primarily to her own misfortunes, Galbreath founded the Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group.

"The big thing we do is try to get accurate information out to people on ways to avoid the disease and what to do if they come down with it," she said. "We refer people to doctors who understand the disease."

She runs the support group from an office in her home and holds monthly meetings in the basement of the Highland Presbyterian Church, a short walking distance from her home. She said the support group can get 10 or 11 phone calls a day from people seeking help. Some monthly meetings attract about 65 people.

Dr. Andrew Bernstein, a health officer with the Harford County Health Department, said he is concerned about the prevalence of Lyme disease, but said the number of cases is a bit misleading.

He said something happened in 2000, "maybe it was weather-related, but I'm not sure," that resulted in a sharp drop in the number of Lyme disease cases.

While the rate has increased nearly 126 percent since 2000, he said it's back up to levels reported in 1998 and 1999.

He said it is fair to say the county is experiencing a Lyme disease epidemic, "meaning that we are experiencing more cases than [are] normal." But he said the public thinks epidemic means that things are out of control - and this is not the case.

`A bad rap'

Bernstein said the current number of cases does not justify the cost of implementing programs such as controlling the population of deer and the use of bait stations where pesticide in feed could help prevent the spread of the disease.

He said these programs would be very expensive and, so far, there are not enough cases of Lyme disease to justify the cost.

"We are not there yet," he said, "but if the rate continues to climb in the next couple of years we may have to consider other steps."

Dr. Virginia Bailey, head of Cecil County's Health Department, attributed the rise in the disease to several factors.

"There has been a lot of building activity," she said. "People are living where they have not lived before. Houses are being built near woods and people are making more contact with deer."

She said there's also more awareness about Lyme disease, and this has increased the number of reported cases.

"Deer are getting a bad rap," said Karon Damewood, acting chief of the state's Center for Veterinary Public Health.

She said people are just as likely to come into contact with a deer tick from a bird, a dog or cat, or white-footed deer mouse in the yard.

Unlike the situations in Harford and Cecil counties, she said the number of Lyme disease cases in the state has remained steady in recent years. They dropped last year by 7 percent. There were 691 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the state that year.

Spreading the word

Damewood suggested several steps that people could take to help avoid the disease. They included keeping bird feeders, leaf litter and wood piles away from the house.

Damewood said people respond differently to Lyme disease. She said some people respond very well to antibiotics while others develop chronic forms of the disease resulting in partial paralysis or heart disease.

She said she has never seen a fatal case of Lyme disease. "I've only seen two death certificates that listed Lyme disease as the secondary cause," she said.

However, Galbreath said Harford County should be doing more to promote awareness of Lyme disease.