WASHINGTON — Lyme disease is the most common and fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While many may recover completely, one man we spoke with says he has chronic Lyme disease.
"The greenery behind us, if you walk through there you're gonna come out with some ticks on you," said Josh Johnson.
Growing up, Johnson loved being outdoors. These days, he'd rather walk on concrete over brush in Virginia.
"Chances are I got bit in Connecticut, considering my background in traveling internationally. More than likely in southern New England," Johnson said.
It was 15 years ago when he discovered a bad rash, followed by symptoms of feeling sick and tired.
"More than likely it was on the back of my lower leg because that's where the bullseye rash was," he said.
Doctors diagnosed him with Lyme disease. He says it got into his nervous system. The illness is carried mainly in North America by the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick. He's now raising awareness with the Global Lyme Alliance, a nonprofit.
"I started working on ticks in 1983. At the time, people were just talking about this thing called Lyme disease," Thomas Mather said.
Mather is a professor of public health entomology at the University of Rhode Island. He wants more people to learn about ticks and the diseases they carry.
"I think everyone in America needs to know the types of ticks, where they live, and what the level of disease risk might be from them," he added.
According to the CDC, as many as 476,000 people in the U.S. get Lyme disease a year, and there’s a rise in cases along the East Coast.
"Some people try to scrape it off with a credit card," Mather explained.
So, what happens if you find a tick? Mather says carefully remove it. The company Bug Bite Thing is partnering with the alliance for awareness and has created a new tick removal tool. The aim is to grab as close to the skin as possible and near the tick's mouth.
"Just where you need to attach to pull the tick out," he said.
Use a slotted end to pull away engorged ticks. Typically, people recover from the disease completely, but Johnson says he's been dealing with chronic symptoms for a decade.
"You have joint pain, arthritis on the bad days during flare-ups, fingers don't always work," Johnson told WUSA9.
Besides catching and removing ticks, the general advice is to use bug repellent. DEET is one option. Another is called Permethrin, but it's used to treat clothes and cannot be applied directly on skin.
For help with identifying ticks, and more info on the disease you can check out this link -Guardians Against Ticks.
RELATED: 4 VERIFIED facts about ticks
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