Health commissioner warns Lyme cases and wastewater norovirus are rising, flags synthetic products and Medicaid hit

Health Commissioner Zach Green told Mount Vernon City Council on May 4 that the health department’s quarterly and annual reports show a modest rise in Lyme disease and other public-health pressures.

“We have 22 confirmed cases of Lyme in 2026 and where we were in 2025 at this point was 18,” Green said, urging the council and residents to continue education and vigilance as vector season begins. He also said influenza case counts are falling but that norovirus detections in wastewater have “increased substantially,” and he stressed hand hygiene and food-safety measures to limit spread.

Green warned council members about readily available synthetic opioid-like products sold in some convenience stores and described a pattern of overdoses among vulnerable populations, including people in recovery. He said regulators at the Joint Committee on Agency Rulemaking (JCAR) moved a rule on April 13 that will allow some products to be removed from the market and that an Ohio Pharmacy Board filing expected in early May could start enforcement mechanisms. “There’s a surplus unfortunately of this product in our communities,” Green said, adding that chemical tweaks can quickly put a new variant outside existing scheduling.

On departmental finances, Green told council that Medicaid reimbursement shortfalls are straining services. “In February this year, we received an $800,000 reduction in our Medicaid cost report,” he said, explaining the federally qualified health-center reimbursement landscape has tightened and that some direct-care services are at risk without adjustments.

Council members asked what local steps the city can take. Green said local ordinances are an available avenue but cautioned enforcement capacity and the long-term durability of local bans if state rules lag: “It is the enforcement component of such ordinance that I’m not sure how manageable,” he said.

Green said he has been engaged with state legislators, including meetings with a state senator and a representative, to press for broader tools. He told council that some solutions may require state-level action because small chemical changes can defeat category-based scheduling and enforcement.

Green closed by urging continued public education on Lyme prevention, hygiene practices to limit norovirus transmission, and close coordination with state regulators to address synthetic products.

The health report was placed on the record; council members asked follow-up budget questions and then moved on to the legislative agenda.