Lyme Disease Season Is Coming: Chesco Officials Warn

CHESTER COUNTY, PA —May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, just ahead of summer when ticks and Lyme disease are at their worst in Chester County, county officials said Thursday.

The Chester County commissioners this week presented a proclamation to the County’s Health Department, and to lymebasics.org, recognizing Lyme disease’s detrimental impact on the body.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness, caused by a bacterium transmitted by a black-legged tick.

Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, aches, and swollen glands. A skin rash may also be present.

In 2022, Chester County residents accounted for five percent of all reported Lyme disease cases in Pennsylvania,

An obvious sign of Lyme disease is a rash that may start to look like a bulls-eye, with a red blotch in the middle.

Chester County typically has one of the highest outbreaks of Lyme disease of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, according to Chester County health department.

In 2022, a total of 13,343 Lyme disease cases were reported in Pennsylvania (incidence of 102.9 cases per 100,000 residents).

That same year, 668 Lyme disease cases were reported in Chester County.

The areas with the highest number of reported Lyme disease cases consisted of the following zip codes:

• 19320 – Coatesville
• 19335 –Downingtown
• 19355 – Malvern
• 19380 – West Chester
• 19382 – West Chester
• 19465 - Pottstown

According to the Chester County Department of Health, within several weeks to several months, up to five percent of untreated patients may develop chronic neurological issues that include shooting pain, numbness or tingling in hands or feet, and short-term memory problems.

Prevention

Precautions should be taken in high-risk areas such as damp, grassy, or wooded regions or when outside for an extended period of time while doing yard work, gardening, hiking, etc.

• Wear clothing that covers the skin and tuck loose pants into socks;
• Wear light-colored clothing because ticks are easier to spot and brush off;
• Apply insect repellant to exposed skin other than the face and/or apply permethrin to clothes;
• Walk in the center of trails to avoid contact with overgrown grass and brush;
• Use a high-heat dryer for one hour after washing clothes. This will kill most ticks that might have been attached to clothing;
• Keep grass mowed and trees trimmed;
• Remove brush or leaf piles accumulated around stone walls or wood piles;
• Create a woodchip or mulch barrier between the woodlands and your yard;
• Place swing sets and other play equipment in mulched areas away from the surrounding woodland edge;
• Check yourself, your family, and your pets frequently for ticks;
• Parents should take extra care and check their children for ticks;
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and find ticks that may be crawling on you;
• Conduct a full-body tick check in front of a mirror to view all parts of your body when returning from potentially tick-infested areas.