Ohio is seeing an increase in cases of vector-borne disease

OHIO — Outdoors, there are still plenty of creepy crawlies that bring their own risk of disease, even with falling temperatures showing up.

The Ohio Department of Health has provided an update on its vector-borne disease cases, those spread by fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. In its October 17 update, ODH noted an increase in West Nile Virus, Lyme disease and anaplasmosis.

According to the department, there are nine cases of West Nile Virus in the state, belonging to four women and five men. The age of the infected varied from 48 years to 77 years. There is also one bird case and three horse cases of the disease.

The human cases live in Lucas, Henry, Auglaize, Hancock, Wyandot, Franklin, Lorain, Cuyahoga and Ashtabula counties. There were also three asymptomatic, viremic blood donors with West Nile Virus.

Commonly spread by mosquito bites, West Nile Virus symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rash, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ODH also noted an increase in Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread through tick bites, from 953 cases reported in a previous update to 1,002 cases. Of these, 454 cases belonged to women and 547 to men. The age of the infected varied from 1-year-old to 89-year-old.

The top counties reporting cases include: Jefferson County with 73; Tuscarawas County with 69; Licking County with 66; Columbiana County with 57 and Stark County with 45.

According to CDC, common tick bite symptoms to watch for include fever, rash, chills, aches and pains. The department recommends limiting exposure to areas where the insects reside to prevent contracting tick-related diseases. EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET or products with 05% permethrin can also help prevent bites.

ODH reported 15 cases of anaplasmosis, an increase from the 13 previously reported. The cases belong to five women and 11 men aged from 36 to 88 years.

Other disease cases that remained unchanged from previous reporting were three cases of La Crosse; three cases of babesiosis; 13 Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases and 17 Ehrlichiosis cases, according to the ODH.

For more information on tick bite prevention, click here.