This Could Be The Worst Tick Season In Years. Here's What You Need To Know.

Tick season is upon us, and it’s shaping up to be a real doozy. Scientists predict 2017 will bear the highest number of ticks in recent years, with a jump in reported cases of tick-borne illnesses in some regions of the U.S. Ticks are thriving thanks to a recent explosion of the white-footed mice population, which carry Lyme disease, Powassan virus and other tick-borne illnesses. Meanwhile, warmer winters caused by climate change are allowing ticks to remain active longer and carry diseases into new regions of the U.S. Experts suggest people living in regions where these diseases are most prevalent ― the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest ― should learn about common tick misconceptions and best practices to avoid bites. Black-legged ticks are the common carriers of several tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus and babesiosis. They can have life cycles of up to two to three years and are most active between May and July. Theodore G. Andreadis is the director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, which collects ticks and analyzes them for pathogens. He said his organization has received an unusually high number of samples this year and a “concerning” number have tested positive for disease-causing organisms. “With the mild winter, we had ticks being brought into our lab for testing as early as February,” Andreadis said. “And the number we...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news