Lyme-Carrying Ticks Are Going To Be 'Gangbusters' This Summer

BI ^ | 6-16-2014 | Ted Siefer

[blam]

Ted Siefer
June 16, 2014

Deer ticks, also known as blacklegged ticks, are the prime carriers of Lyme disease, which is particularly common in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Large numbers of ticks, the parasites that carry Lyme disease, are expected to emerge in New England in the coming weeks, experts said on Friday.

Abundant snow over the winter and a wet spring have created ideal conditions for ticks to come out in the warm weather and try to latch onto hosts, they said.

"The next three to four weeks is the peak season of risk," said Sam Telford, an infectious disease professor at Tufts University and an authority on Lyme disease.

"That's when the nymphal ticks emerge and appear in large numbers. It's going to be gangbusters the next few weeks," Telford said.

The nymphs, some as small as a period in a newspaper, are much harder to detect than the full-grown ticks more commonly seen in the fall.

At a site he monitors on Nantucket, Telford found twice the number of ticks last week as he did last year.

The University of Rhode Island, which operates the Tick Encounter Resource Center, has placed its tick alert level at red, or high, for the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region based on reports from a network of tick surveyors.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria carried by the blacklegged tick, commonly known as the deer tick. Early symptoms include headache, muscle pain and fatigue, and in some cases a tell-tale bullseye rash.

The incidence of Lyme disease continues to rise in the region. New Hampshire health authorities reported nearly 1,700 cases of Lyme disease last year and the state now has the nation's highest incidence of the disease per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control

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[Ditter]

Was the child bitten where you live now or here?

[Gabz]

Soviet Red Hampshire is LOADED with ticks this year...a judgement against people who support abortion and sodomite marriage, I suppose.

Oh please - if you believe that, then explain why a rural red county that does not support abortion and sodomite marriage in Virginia is LOADED with ticks this year? It is only the 17th of June and we have been pulling ticks off of the 3 of us and the dog and cats since mid-May.

[RegulatorCountry]

All the summer bugs turned up early. Even the lightning bugs were out in force in May, which is unusual. It’s even more unusual given the very cold, late winter that we had.

[Gabz]

Now that you mention it — I haven’t seen lightning bug one yet. Which is really weird, but I hadn’t even thought about it.

As to fleas and ticks, it seems we run in cycles around here - I’ll be inundated with ticks, as we currently are, yet a friend 5 miles down the road hasn’t encountered one, but is infested with fleas and I’m not having a problem with them.

[RegulatorCountry]

I’ve found a few tiny deer ticks on the dogs and even one crawling on my leg, but I’ve seen much worse. Ticks are out but their numbers are not unusual here.

[who knows what evil?]

A touch of sarcasm, to be sure...but this Nation is under judgement at this time, and the people of this country need to repent. I certainly DO believe that.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I believe for the first time ever, last week, I saw a deer tick.

And it was stuck on ME!

Luckily, I think it just started - I thought it was a tiny speck of dirt until I had to pick it away, and saw LEGS!

So here in MD, yes, I had a deer tick and am watching the site.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Deer ticks, not just any ticks. Those are the ones to be worried about. How are the deer ticks?

I’ve only ever seen dog ticks in my life until last year, I think I ran across a Lone Star. Then I found a deer tick on myself last week. That scared the bejeebers out of me.

[Gabz]

We’ve got deer ticks here as well as dog ticks. We had to find a new family doctor because ours, who did extensive research into Lyme, had his license suspended because the medical board didn’t like how he was choosing to treat the numerous cases of Lyme around here. He chose to retire to just continue his research instead of fighting the establishment.

[1_Rain_Drop]

"If you think you were bit, jump in a bathtub w/ at least 4 cups equal parts of baking soda and epsom salts, stay submerged to your neck for at least half an hour and continually dunk your hair and face."

What is the purpose of doing this?

I have just pulled a tick off of me...