By JIMMY LAWTON

The number of St. Lawrence County residents infected with Lyme disease has quadrupled in the past five years, and increases appear to be continuing.

Before 2002, there were no documented cases of Lyme disease in the county, but last year, 42 cases were confirmed and that number is on rise, according to the Department of Public Health.

Early symptoms of Lyme disease may include fever, headache, fatigue, depression, and a circular skin rash. Left untreated, later symptoms may involve the joints, heart, and central nervous system, according to Wikipedia.

Laurie Mackie, supervisor of public services at the department, said Lyme disease infections have been a growing problem for the area and the county is on pace for a record number of cases this year.

As of June this year, 22 cases were confirmed and 25 cases were pending a special blood test known as a "Western Blot."

"That's just in the past six months. Last year we had 42 confirmed cases, so it looks like that number will be up again," she said.

And that's just the confirmed cases. Mackie said confirming a case requires a positive blood test or the appearance of the bulls-eye rash caused by the disease, but a lot of potential cases are treated by primary physician's before the disease can mature and are never officially confirmed.

She said there were 74 reports of possible Lyme disease last year that remained unconfirmed.

"The majority of people who find a tick on them are going to their physicians and are likely being given a dose of antibiotics as a precautionary measure. In those cases they wouldn't go through with the blood work, because that will usually take care of it."

Mackie said St. Lawrence County confirmed its first case of Lyme disease in 2002 and the number of infections did not hit double digits until 2007 when 10 cases were confirmed. In 2008 infections rose to 25 and have not dropped below 30 since.

Mackie said St. Lawrence County is not alone in Lyme disease outbreak. She said surrounding counties and much of the northeastern region of the country are reporting similar trends.

"We have had the tick population coming from Connecticut," she said.

Mackie said mild winters could be part of the problem. She said ticks don't die in the winter, but go into hibernation. She said warmer weather means a longer tick season and higher chance for infections.

"We used to always say tick season began in late April and went though November," she said. "Now it’s basically from the first time it warms up until we have the second really hard freeze."

Mackie said the numbers may also be skewed because of awareness. She said people are more likely to visit a physician after removing a tick than they were 10 years ago, because public health has worked to inform people of the problem.

"They know it's here and we are getting better at diagnosing it," she said.

Although the Lyme disease cases aren't documented for animals, Mackie said local veterinarians are seeing a similar trend.

"We don't track what happens with animals, but vets are reporting a rise in Lyme disease," she said.

The continual growth in Lyme disease is a concern for St. Lawrence County Public Health. Mackie said her department works to raise awareness throughout the year and has even added a web page on the county website.

Mackie urged anyone spending outdoors to take preventative measures and check for ticks regularly.

"People need to be aware that if they have been out in the woods or hiking to check themselves for ticks," she said, adding that the disease can cause a variety of health problems ranging from joint pain to kidney failure.

Mackie said only deer ticks transfer Lyme disease. She said a tick must be attached for about 36 hours to transmit Lyme disease.

Mackie said the only proper way to remove a tick is to grasp the arachnid with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and slowly pull it out of the skin. She said details regarding tick removal can be found at http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/Departments/PublicHealth/LymeDisease_WestNileVirus.