Though an overall drop, Horry County still leads SC in Lyme disease cases, DHEC reports
Horry County led South Carolina in 2018 with the most reported cases of Lyme disease, though the amount of cases statewide dropped dramatically, according to a state report
More than a quarter of the cases in South Carolina were reported in Horry County, according to an annual morbidity report from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The disease — caused by a germ carried by ticks which are most prevalent in the spring and summer — was reported 10 times in the county last year, down from 12 in 2017, the report states.
There were a total of 37 cases in the state in 2018. That is compared to 77 cases in 2017 when South Carolina saw the most reported cases in the last 20 years, the report states.
The report notes cases of Lyme disease among state residents have increased since 2007, but experienced a “significant decrease in the number of cases between 2017 and 2018.”
DHEC said in its report that the state generally has more cases of tick-borne diseases than mosquito-borne diseases.
DHEC reports within one to two weeks of being infected, most people have symptoms of a bulls-eye rash where they are bit by the tick, fever, headache and muscle or joint pain. The disease, which is rarely fatal, is treated with antibiotics if it is diagnosed in the early stages, according to DHEC. If it is not treated early after being infected, it may require “prolonged oral or intravenous antibiotic treatment,” according to DHEC.
Former U.S. Senator Kay Hagen died last month after a 3-year battle with encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain often caused by an infection like the Powassan virus, the Charlotte Observer reported. The virus is often transmitted through tick bites.
Other notable reportings from 2018 in Horry County include 83 cases of seasonal influenza, 146 cases of Salmonellosis, and 668 cases of chronic Hepatitis C, according to the report.
