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Crissy Brownstein Naticchia told The Mighty that her husband of 23 years was diagnosed with Babesia, a tick-born illness that quickly attacks the red blood cells. His diagnosis came after the 50-year-old had come down with an intense fever that eventually landed him in the Intensive Care Unit. However, because it took six days for her husband to get the correct diagnosis, he never recovered. Naticchia's husband unexpectedly passed away the day after his diagnosis. According to Fox 2, scientists have recently discovered an exotic tick species in the United States, specifically in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is not...

The number of Americans sickened each year by bites from infected mosquitoes, ticks or fleas tripled from 2004 through 2016, with infection rates spiking sharply in 2016 as a result of a Zika outbreak, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday. Infections in 2016 went up 73 percent from 2015, reflecting the emergence of Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause severe birth defects. Zika was the most common disease borne by ticks, mosquitoes and fleas reported in 2016, with 41,680 cases reported, followed by Lyme disease, with 36,429 cases, almost double the number in 2004.

13-year old Olivia Goodreau has been living with Lyme disease for half her life. She joined me today to tell her story from the tick bite to a myriad of symptoms to visiting 51 doctors before being diagnosed with the tick-borne disease. Olivia also talked about her nonprofit organization, LivLyme Foundation, which supports the work of researchers and scientists who are dedicated to finding the effective treatment for Lyme disease and ultimately finding the cure. We also talk about the TickTracker app, her idea which allows you to track & report ticks in real-time with geolocation. Jeff Stauffer, Founder of...

Mosquito bites are bothersome enough, but when you consider risks, like getting sick with Zika, dengue, or chikungunya, it’s important that you choose an insect repellent that works well and that you feel comfortable regularly using. Protect yourself when traveling: Learn about country-specific travel advice, health risks, and how to stay safe by visiting CDC Travelers’ Health website. Use insect repellent: Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent with one of the following active ingredients. When used as directed, EPA-registered insect repellents are proven safe and effective, even for pregnant and breastfeeding women.DEETPicaridin, also known as KBR 3023, Bayrepel,...

Ahead of what is projected to be one of the worst summers for tick-borne diseases in years in Westchester and Rockland Counties, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today urged, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to double-down on efforts to fully implement new laws, passed by Congress last year, that will significantly increase research, vaccine development and treatment strategies to help stamp out tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease. Schumer said any delay in federal action will allow newly emerging disease like Powassan, which is even deadlier than Lyme disease, to impact already highly vulnerable areas...

MARSHFIELD, Vt. (AP) — Tick numbers are on the rise across New England, raising the prospect of an increase in Lyme and other diseases associated with the blood suckers. Much of the region got a respite last year as the drought took a toll on ticks, whose numbers drop as the humidity falls below 85 percent. But the drought is largely gone from the region and ticks are taking advantage. Residents in Maine are complaining they are finding as many as 30 ticks at a time on their clothes, and public health officials in Vermont are reporting an above-average rate...

WASHINGTON – The Centers for Disease Control is warning of the emergence of a far deadlier tick-related virus than Lyme Disease – one that kills 10 percent of those infected and permanently disables the other 50 percent. It’s called POW for short, or Powassan, and it, like Lyme, is carried by deer. Recent cases have been noted in the Northeast U.S. and the Great Lakes states. The virus can cause inflammation of the brain, leading to death in 10 percent of cases and permanent disability in 50 percent of cases. Signs and symptoms of infection can include fever, headache, vomiting,...

As if Lyme disease isn't troubling enough, a more serious tick-borne disease may be emerging, experts warn. Powassan virus, which is a far rarer and more deadly pathogen than the bacterium that produces Lyme, is also transmitted by the deer tick. The virus can cause inflammation in the brain, which leads to death or permanent disability in 60 percent of cases.

Mild winters and big deer and mice populations mean more ticks and higher rates of Lyme disease diagnoses. Milder winters, burgeoning mice and deer populations and a bumper acorn crop from two years ago mean this year’s tick season is expected to be bad and more widespread, experts say. With that comes the threat of more tick-borne diseases, including the most common, Lyme disease. States like Connecticut—home to the town of Old Lyme where the disease was first diagnosed—are already reporting a higher number of ticks infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, which causes Lyme disease, as well as other...

2017 could be a record year for ticks and tick-borne illnesses according to one researcher who studies the arachnids in Alabama. "I would say this is going to be a very bad tick year because it was a very mild winter," said Tim Sellati, chair of Southern Research's Infectious Diseases Department. In addition, Sellati said a warming climate has let certain species of ticks expand their range and those changes are reflected in tick surveys in Alabama and other parts of the United States. "The winters are warmer and the ticks recognize this, they sense this change in their environment,"...

Kris Kristofferson has been battling memory loss for several years, but his condition has taken a marked turn for the better due to a surprising diagnosis. Doctors have been telling Kristofferson that his worsening memory loss was caused either by Alzheimer’s or by dementia that was brought on by blows to the head he suffered in his athletic youth, when he took regular part in rough sports including football, boxing and rugby. The iconic singer-songwriter and actor tells Rolling Stone Country that it got so bad, he sometimes couldn’t remember what he was doing from one moment to the next....

Dr. Stone was eventually able to determine that Ollie’s sickness was caused by a very rare condition called tick paralysis........... A 10-year-old dog named Ollie is alive today thanks to a Portland, Oregon-based DoveLewis Animal Hospital intern who found a tick hidden in his ear, moments before the veterinarian was to euthanise the sick dog. Ollie’s owners, Al and Joelle, decided to put the dog to sleep after noticing his rapidly failing health after returning home from a trip to the Umpqua River, according to a statement from DoveLewis Animal Hospital. “We were at a complete loss,” said Al, the...

This mild, short winter means most of Minnesota's tick population survived. Even though it's only early March, the disease-carry blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are already out and active. "We know they can be active when the temperatures are in the mid -to upper-30s, so that could be today," University of Minnesota Entomologist Jeff Hahn said. "They are out there, and we have already seen them looking for hosts," he said. Blacklegged ticks are becoming more of a problem here in the Twin Cities metro. As a result, the number of reported cases of Lyme disease are on...

According to KOCO, four days after visiting Grand Lake, Jo Rogers thought she had the flu. The mother of two was tested for both West Nile Virus and meningitis, but the test results came back negative. Doctors said her organs were starting to shut down. Rogers’ cousin, Lisa Morgan, told KOCO, “…her arms and feet were turning dark blue and black. It was crawling up her limbs.” It turned out that a tick bite that went unnoticed caused Rocky Mountain spotted fever to attack the 40-year-old woman’s body. Doctors had no choice but to amputate her limbs. “(They had) to...

The United States has an epidemic brewing within our borders, and the problem is much more serious than most people realize. Lyme disease is spreading fast, and it only takes the bite of a poppy-seed-size tick to contract. Even after treatment, symptoms can be difficult to shake. Those infected can develop severe, rheumatoid arthritis-like joint and muscle pain. Fatigue and neurological disorders — such as numbness, tingling, weakness, and cognitive impairment — can set in too. Left untreated, infections can lead to brain inflammation or heart problems. At least a handful of such cases have proven fatal. A recent study...

Loren Grush, Popular Science August 18, 2014The Lone Star tick. Mike Abley will always remember the last hamburger he ever ate. It was more than 20 years ago, and he recalls the meat being particularly juicy and delicious. But a few hours after dinner, Abley started itching like mad. He burst into hives, his tongue swelled, and he eventually passed out, prompting his wife to call 911. At the hospital, doctors determined he had gone into anaphylactic shock—a potentially deadly allergic reaction. Fortunately, Abley pulled through, and he later met with an allergist to determine what had caused the terrifying...

Ted SieferJune 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...

An Oklahoma man has died after acquiring the Heartland virus, making him the second person in the U.S. to die after coming down with the illness, state health officials said Tuesday. The state Department of Health released few details but said the man was from Delaware County in northeast Oklahoma, was over the age of 65 and died recently from complications of the virus, which is found in the lone star tick and is likely spread through tick bites. The virus was first identified in 2009, in Missouri. …

Vestal, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Standing just feet from a cement trail leading to Binghamton University's East Gym, biologist Ralph Garruto demonstrated how he has found ticks hiding in plain sight. "If you have a picnic table out over there, under a tree like that or just off to the edge, ticks are in this kind of leaf litter," Garruto said. Garruto has been studying tick behavior since the pests arrived in Broome County en masse six years ago. Through his research, he's found more ticks living around building and in man-made environments than in the deep woods. Recently, after testing...

Some children living in the U.S. Southeast have a rare meat allergy linked to tick bites, according to a new study. Bites from ticks, usually lone star ticks, cause the body to become allergic to a protein called alpha-gal — which also happens to be found in some mammals, including cows, pigs and sheep, the researchers said. When people who have been bitten develop this allergy, and then eat meat from these animals, they can experience hives, swelling, or more rarely, a life-threatening allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.