All Posts Tagged With: "deer ticks"

Linda’s comments:  Tick population exploding isn’t just on the East coast, it is US wide.  More and more ER’s are reporting a BIG increase with tick bites.   More importantly, you don’t have to have a tick bite to get Lyme disease.  BEWARE and pay attention when in the great outdoors.

Full article: http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_099222830.html

Excerpt:

NEWBURYPORT — Deer ticks have been appearing in huge numbers throughout the region, raising concerns about Lyme disease.

All along the East Coast, health experts have seen a sudden and dramatic increase in ticks.

“Just in the past week or two, we have seen an explosion in deer ticks,” said Dr. Heidi Bassler, medical director of the Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport.

The unusually warm weather and record-setting rains have helped bolster the tick population. Hospitals, such as Addison-Gilbert in Gloucester, have experienced a surge in tick bite cases. Normally, the hospital sees one or two cases per day; now it is seeing eight or 10.

There are two different kinds of ticks that are predominant in the region. Dog ticks are about the size of a pencil eraser; deer ticks, the more dangerous species, are closer to the size of a pen point.

With a single bite, deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease, symptoms of which include a debilitating complex of fever, headache, fatigue and depression, and two other illnesses of similar symptoms.

Ticks are mostly found in woods and fields. High grass, including dune grass, is one of their favored habitats.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Deer ticks are expanding their range in the Upper Midwest and southern Canada, new ticks are moving into the area and existing ticks are picking up new diseases, increasing the threat of illness to hikers tramping through the region’s woods. Continued