Concerns Over Tick, Mosquito-Borne Diseases Rise After CDC Report

BOSTON (CBS) — A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) report is raising concerns. From 2004-2016 the amount of tick, mosquito, and flea-transmitted diseases have tripled in the U.S. Nearly 60% of the diseases detected came from ticks. Dr. David Crandell, clinical co-director for the Dean Center Tick-Borne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, says he’s not surprised. Dr. Crandell believes an increase in Lyme disease diagnosis comes from better testing and more importantly, a better understanding of the disease and the signs. He says symptoms include: Malaise, almost like a flu-like symptom, people using presenting fever, cardiac arrhythmia Dr. Crandell says many people could have been bitten without ever seeing a tick on their body. He recommends wearing pants and long sleeve shirts when in wooded areas, Cover those clothes with a repellent called permethrin and when you come back in, check your body from head to toe. The author of the study would not say if there is a link between climate change and the spread of disease. However, they did say globalization is playing a big part. As they put it, “disease is just a plane ride away.”
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Boston News Health Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local CDC Gary Brode Local TV Mosquitoes tick-borne disease ticks Source Type: news