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June 20, 2018

‘Tick’ tock: Lyme disease grows as threat here - Vero News

You can’t hide from Lyme disease in Florida anymore.

While most people think of the disease in connection with the northeast, Dr. Aisha Thomas-St. Cyr at Sebastian Infectious Disease Care and Steward Health says the number of cases of this tick-borne illness are likely to double in the Sunshine State this year.

And while doubling might seem bad, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently increased its projections for the total number of Americans who will contract Lyme Disease nationwide this year by a factor of 10: from 30,000 to 300,000 – or more.

The Florida Lyme Disease Association says the disease is “about 10 times more common than previously reported” in this state, as well.

The mismatch exists mainly because it is one of the most difficult diseases to accurately diagnose – which is a big problem, since it can become painfully debilitating if left untreated.

Read more about lyme disease from Dr. Aisha Thomas-St. Cyr, a Sebastian River Medical Center provider.