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The La Crosse County Health Department report for 2006 lists the number of Lyme disease cases dropping by more than 50 percent.
But Geske, the health department’s vector control officer, said Lyme cases increased last year — many just didn’t meet state and national criteria to count as cases.
“We can get two positive tests, and the doctor knows it’s Lyme and treats it as Lyme, but it doesn’t count as Lyme,” Geske said.
The county reported 57 Lyme cases in 2006, compared with 131 in 2005 and 231 in 2004.
“We’ve been seeing more Lyme, not less, but in counting a case, if someone has the typical rash but doesn’t know how large it is, then it’s not counted as a case,” Geske said.
Cases of another tick-borne disease, ehrlichiosis, rose significantly in the county in 2006: 10, more than all cases of the bacterial disease since 2001.
“We’re seeing more activity with that tick,” Geske said.
The number of pertussis, or whopping cough, cases decreased significantly in 2006. After pertussis outbreaks with 44 cases in 2004 and 20 cases in 2005, only four cases were reported in the county last year.
Children with elevated blood lead levels decreased from 31 in 2005 to 16 in 2006. “We’ve had an intensive lead poisoning prevention program with screening and follow-up in the home if needed,” said Doug Mormann, director of the La Crosse County Health Department.
No cases of the La Crosse strain of encephalitis were reported in the county in 2006. Only five encephalitis cases have been identified in the county since 2001. Hepatitis A cases were down from 27 in 2005 to 19 in 2006, and Hepatitis C cases were down slightly from 42 in 2005 to 36 last year.
More people filed environmental complaints in 2006 — 478, compared with 375 the previous year — on such issues as waste disposal, animals, insects and pollution control.
Mormann said La Crosse County is one of the state’s healthiest counties, ranking No. 16 in a report by the Wisconsin Public Health and Health Policy Institute in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School.
The county received high ratings for vaccinations and health care and low numbers of fatal automobile crashes.
“We continue to live longer in this county, but we don’t always use the information to help us live as healthy as we can,” Mormann said.
More can be done on smoking cessation, preventing sexually transmitted diseases and abuse of drugs and alcohol, he said.
“As a county, we continue to make progress when it comes to our health, and we’re headed in the right direction,” Mormann said.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
