Lyme Disease in Maryland

10 years ago I'd never heard of Lyme Disease. But in the past couple of years, at least 10 people I know have been diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening illness.

Marylanders are particularly susceptible to Lyme Disease because as the disease has spread down the Northeast Corridor, deer ticks that are the primary carrier have found a ready host in the exploding deer population in the state, which lives in close proximity to people here.


Lyme Disease, originally associated with the area around Lyme, CT, is frequently misdiagnosed because the symptoms are often similar to many other illnesses, and if left untreated it can cause serious and chronic conditions to include cognitive issues.

Maryland and Lyme Disease
One of the things I like about Maryland is that although it's densely populated and has been settled for almost 400 years, it still has large heavily-wooded areas. I live in Howard County, which is the start of the piedmont region (the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains), and it's common here to have suburban subdivisions tucked into expanses of trees.

Without natural predators, the deer population surged out of control in Maryland after hunting protections were established. According to the state of Maryland:

White-tailed deer are more numerous today than prior to European settlement of North America. In pre-colonial times, they were prey for wolves and mountain lions. Native Americans hunted white-tailed deer all year round. Today, man is the only predator of white-tailed deer in Maryland.

Hunted nearly to extinction around 1900, by the early 1990's the Maryland deer population was estimated to be around 160,000 animals increasing to 269,000 in 2005-2006 despite a harvest of about 90,000 deer.

The number of deer now exceeds 25 animals per square mile in rural areas and 15 deer per square mile in suburban areas.


It's not uncommon to see deer in backyards or neighborhoods, and a couple of people I know have hit deer on the road. (Not a simple matter, as the large animals are severely injured and cause a lot of damage to the cars.)

Deer SWAT Teams
The consequences of a large human population and an overpopulation of deer has led to problems ranging from nuisances (gardens and shrubbery being consumed by deer) to troublesome (the growth of the deer is stunted by overgrazing), with Lyme Disease probably the most serious issue.

Maryland periodically tries to cull the herd, to include bow hunting seasons, but a recent incident where a hunter accidentally shot out the window of a daycare center in Columbia, MD highlights the difficulty of controlling deer in a densely-populated state. Howard and other jurisdictions even have sharpshooters whose job is to eliminate deer who have become chronic pests in neighborhoods.

The Problem With Lyme Disease
Part of the difficulty with Lyme Disease is that the most obvious symptom, a characteristic "bullseye" rash around a tick bite, often goes unnoticed or never occurs in the first place.

Here's a picture from Wikipedia since I (fortunately) have never seen it in person:


One family of four whose backyard deck sits next to woods has all been diagnosed with Lyme, but only one ever saw the rash. (Or more precisely, since it was on the elder daughter's head, her mother saw it.) The rest of the family was tested after encountering mysterious symptoms ranging from unusual tiredness to aches and pains and even dizziness. They're currently undergoing treatment.

Another couple diagnosed with Lyme Disease is a pair of professional salsa instructors, and the illness made dancing tough because of fatigue and pain in their joints. They seem to have recovered now.

The problem with Lyme disease is that most doctors aren't trained to look for it and the symptoms often resemble something else. It can attack the nervous system with severe and permanent effects if it isn't caught early enough, and sometimes the antibiotics don't work.

Some of the complications from late treatment seem to arise when the bacteria cross the blood-brain barrier, making it hard to treat. The worst cases lead to chronic fatigue and joint pain, attack the heart and nervous system, and even affect a person's ability to think coherently.

Since most people don't remember being bitten, I could easily see myself missing the signs till it's too late, especially since I'm accustomed to ignoring small aches and pains when I get busy.

Lyme Disease Symptoms
It might be worth testing for Lyme Disease if you have unexplained symptoms that persist, even if you haven't seen a rash, to include:

• Red skin rash
• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle Pain
• Stiff Neck
• Swelling of knees and other large joints
• Fatigue
• Poor appetite
• Sore throat
• Swollen glands
• Ringing in the ears

As you can see, many of the symptoms aren't that unusual by themselves, hence the difficulty in recognizing Lyme Disease.

Some web sites with useful information:

• National Institute of Health (NIH)
• University of Maryland Medical Center (also has a chronic Lyme Disease article)
• Lyme Disease Association
• Wikipedia Lyme Disease Article