WATERLOO - Last year's floods and this winter's heavy snow will likely mean a marked increase in the number of ticks that call Northeast Iowa home this season.

Dr. Chuck Klima, a veterinarian with Klima Small Animal Clinic, said the increased tick population also means that people and their furry friends need to be even more vigilant about the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease, which are often attributed to another illness. The tick-borne disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected insect.

Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash. If left untreated the disease can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system causing lifelong damage.

"We are seeing a huge increase in the amount of Lyme disease we are diagnosing every year. Some of that could also be because the more you see it, the more you test for it," Klima said.

The disease was recently brought into the media spotlight when an Illinois man, Terry Sedlacek, walked into the First Baptist Church there and killed Pastor Fred Winters during his sermon. Sedlacek's mother has said her son contracted Lyme disease in the '90s which eventually caused lesions on his brain and some mental illnesses. She blames the March 8 shooting on the disease, though many experts, including the Centers for Disease Control, say the disease does not cause mental illness or induce violent behaviors.

According to the CDC, more than 27,000 were diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2007, up from just 12,800 a decade earlier. Klima said that even though similar statistics aren't kept on animals, logic would tell him that the incidence rate in dogs is even higher because dogs usually get more tick bites than humans.

Judith Weeg, president of the Lyme Disease Association of Iowa, said animals are usually considered a good gauge for the prevalence of Lyme disease in a given area.

But, while animals can get a vaccine for the disease, no such option exists for people. Instead, Weeg recommends regular applications of a tick repellent while outside and mandatory tick checks as everyone is coming in the door. Potentially contaminated clothing should be thrown in the drier for 30 minutes - a trip through the washer will not kill the insects, Weeg said.

Those who are diagnosed within weeks of contracting the disease have a good chance of beating it, Weeg said, but only with the right combination of antibiotics. Many doctors will only prescribe a few weeks worth of medicine, but Lyme disease advocates recommend three months of antibiotics or until symptoms are no longer present.

Weeg, who battles late stage Lyme disease, is on a continual antibiotic regimen that she believes is keeping her alive. She also says the disease has caused some brain damage, which forced her to relearn how to read and write.

"This is a very serious illness, yet doctors are still sending people home saying that Lyme disease doesn't exist in Iowa," she said.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.