The Arkansas Department of Health has confirmed two cases of tick-borne Lyme disease in the state for the first time in 10 years, officials said.
Health Department spokesman Meg Mirivel said she could not say in which counties the cases were reported. The Health Department requires at least five reports of Lyme disease in an area before it divulges the location, she said.
Arkansas is one of 31 states considered a low-incidence state for Lyme cases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The occurrence of the disease in the state has been less than one in 1 million from 2005 to 2014, she said.
A case in Arkansas has not met the center's definition of Lyme disease since 2007.
The state does report a higher number of cases of other tick-borne diseases, including tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichia, all of which can be fatal, Mirivel said.
"Lyme is still very rare, but people need to be aware of other tick diseases that can be fatal," Mirivel said. "It is important to protect yourself from tick bites."
State epidemiologist Dirk Haselow encouraged doctors to first consider diagnoses other than Lyme disease when treating tick bites.
"We know that Lyme disease is rare here," he said in a news release. "However, we are committed to finding cases of Lyme when they do occur."
Following a diagnosis of Lyme by a health care provider, a patient should consult with a physician or infectious disease specialist to determine if treatment is needed, Haselow said in the release.
"Limitations in testing do sometimes lead to false positives or cases that are missed," he said.
Haselow said Arkansans who have traveled in states where Lyme is prevalent, such as in the Northeast and Midwest, are most commonly diagnosed with the disease.
The Health Department said people can protect themselves from tick-borne diseases by avoiding wooded areas with high grass and leaf litter and by using repellents that contain 20 to 30 percent DEET to help avoid direct contact with ticks.
State Desk on 02/24/2017