Corona virus and Lyme are similar symptoms

Summer officially started, and with the season comes one of the largest health pests in Connecticut - Lyme disease. But this year

Coronavirus and Lyme are similar symptoms

Summer officially started, and with the season comes one of the largest health pests in Connecticut - Lyme disease. But this year, some experts worry that the confusion about the disease may increase, as it carries many of the same symptoms as COVID-19.

"The symptoms are very similar," said Dr. Zain Saul, head of infectious diseases at Bridgeport Hospital. "The only difference is that you do not get respiratory symptoms with Lyme that you develop with COVID."

Lyme disease, caused by an infected tick bite, can cause symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fatigue, fever, and chills, which are also warning signs of COVID-19. In addition to a lack of respiratory symptoms, another major difference is that some Lyme patients get a characteristic bull rash.

But not all people with Lyme disease get this, Saul said.

Lyme disease got its name from southeast Connecticut, where it was detected in a group of children and adults in 1975. 2718 cases of Lyme disease are reported annually to the state's Department of Public Health.

Eva Sabi, director of the Lyme Diseases Program at New Haven University, said that Lyme disease, like COVID-19, causes a response to inflammation in the body. For this reason, the two diseases have the same symptoms, she said.

"It is scary," said Sabie. "You can easily think you have COVID," when it turns out you have Lyme disease. She added, with Lyme disease escalating, it is possible that some people will develop both diseases at the same time.

She said: "We don't know how long the COVID will last, and we know that Lyme disease will last for a while."

Sabie said more research should be done on whether having Lyme disease can increase a person's risk of developing COVID-19, but this is possible.

Usually, ticks that cause Lyme disease begin to appear in late spring or early summer, but Sabie said they appear early due to climate change and high temperatures.

Saul said this "promises that the tick season will be somewhat active", so people should be careful. This includes checking every family member, including pets, for ticks after spending time outside and carefully removing them with tweezers if any. Other steps include using a tick repellent, and wearing pants and long socks when spending time outdoors.

These tick protection measures are in addition to the steps that many people are already taking to protect themselves from COVID-19, such as wearing a mask, social distraction and frequent hand washing.

"Sometimes you may have to have a test for both of them," said Saul, for people who have symptoms associated with these diseases. However, some confusion can be alleviated by using common sense, he said.

Saul said: "If you spend a lot of time outside and do not have respiratory symptoms, then you are probably Lyme." "And if you're in quarantine, you're not going out in the open air, and you're coughing, it's likely COVID."

As an additional development, he suggested that it might not be.

"There are already some summer viruses circulating," Saul said.