Here's What You Need To Know About Ticks

Bad news: Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness, has more than doubled over the past 20 years. In 1995 there were just over 10,000 cases of Lyme disease reported. By 2013 there were over 25,000 confirmed cases and over 35,000 possible cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  While Lyme disease is curable with antibiotics when caught in early stages, if untreated, the illness can cause permanent and potentially devastating complications, from memory loss to chronic joint inflammation to heart arrhythmia. Know Your Risk While Lyme disease is the most famous illness ticks carry, it's far from the only one. Others include babesiosis, a disease caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells, ehrlichiosis, a general name for several bacterial diseases found in animals and humans, and the bacterial disease tularemia. Not exactly comforting. But the good news is that there's a lot you can do to prevent these illnesses with the right precautions and awareness. So, what should you know about these tiny bugs? Here's a closer look at what they look like in each region of the United States, thanks to our friends over at Fix.com: Source: Fix.com We know, we know: Those illustrations alone are enough to make your skin crawl. Most ticks won't give you a disease, but it's important to be able to recognize each of these species to assess any risks. Lone star ticks transmit ehrlichiosis, tulameria, heartland virus and Sout...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news