Ticks on the rise across Ohio; Local man recalls his journey with Lyme Disease

DAYTON — Lyme Disease may be primarily a summer concern, but it is becoming more prevalent in Ohio and the Miami Valley.

News Center 7′s Nick Foley said what begins as a bite from a tiny menace could soon become major headaches with lifelong repercussions if not treated early.

On most days, Skip Casamatta is outdoors and when he’s outside he usually takes precautions to ensure he doesn’t encounter any ticks.

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“I spray my pants. I spray my boots. I spray my shirts and anything I use when I’m in the woods,” Casamatta said.

That’s exactly what he did at his cabin a week before leaving for a trip to Europe but as he prepared to fly out of the country, a fever and fatigue set in and then days after arriving in Europe, everything changed.

“We’d go for a walk, come home, take a nap. Everything was a nap. So, one day, maybe three, possibly four in Europe, I broke out with this unbelievable rash. I mean, it was everywhere. It was on my face, my back, and my legs. It was not shaped like a bullseye, but it was everywhere,” Casamatta said,

He couldn’t get a blood test on his trip, but when he returned to Ohio, his doctor later confirmed what he had initially thought, was Lyme Disease.

Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein is an infection disease specialist with Kettering Health and said, “When you look at trends across Ohio, but more broadly, the Midwest, Lyme Disease has been increasing.”

He said Casamatta is among a group of Ohioans what has been part of a surge in recent years. In fact, over the last 13 years, there has been a 35-fold increase in the number of cases reported in Ohio with nearly 1,300 in 2023.

“It’s important to note that not everyone notices the rash or sees the rash, and in people with dark skin, it can be harder to see. Typically, around the same time that the rash occurs, you get what we call constitutional symptoms. So, headaches are very common with fever and chills, fatigue – those by far are the most common symptoms.”

Weinstein adds the key is early diagnosis often the small deer or black-legged ticks are no longer around when symptoms begin, and while the primary symptoms are non-specific, Weinstein says it’s up to doctors to be on the lookout for Lyme Disease.

“In Wisconsin, for instance, Minnesota, there’s been a high. There’s been a lot of attention and a lot of knowledge among the medical and healthcare community about Lyme Disease for decades because it’s been in those areas. As it moves in and moves across the country, moves into eastern and western Ohio, we need that awareness,” Weinstein said.

Three months after his scare, Casamatta is finally back to full strength and credits treatment before his symptoms became chronic as the reason, he is back outside doing the things he loves.

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