Drought ’ s Good News – Fewer Ticks

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The drought conditions that have gripped much of the Northeastern U.S. this summer appear to have a silver lining — fewer ticks. From Maine to Rhode Island, researchers say they expect tick numbers to be down from previous years especially for the blacklegged ticks, known as deer ticks, which transmit Lyme disease. It’s too early to say, however, whether fewer ticks could mean a decline in Lyme disease cases. About 30,000 confirmed cases are reported each year across the country and those numbers have steadily risen. Scientists and state health agencies say they won’t be able to provide an accurate assessment until later this year. “I’m confident that ticks took it on the chin this summer,” said University of Rhode Island’s Thomas Mather, who studies ticks and tick-borne diseases and co-wrote a 2014 paper showing that drier conditions impacted deer tick survival rates. Catherine Brown, an epidemiologist with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, agreed that deer ticks are hurting. “When you have such a prolonged dry period as we’ve had this year, it’s very, very likely that we’re going to see a decline in tick-borne disease this year as compared to last year,” she said. “It would be hard to prove now that tick populations are down but again, based on our experience and what we know about the ecology of ticks, this weather will have very likely reduced the tick population....
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Deer Ticks Source Type: news