How Bad Will the Ticks Be This Summer?
If you end up becoming one of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers expected to be bitten by a tick this summer, don’t be surprised.
Some experts are warning that it could be a particularly bad tick season.
For decades, the main public health threat from ticks in New York has been Lyme disease, transmitted by the blacklegged tick, often called the “deer tick,” which generally picks up the pathogen from rodents. But new tick-borne pathogens — with names like Bourbon and Heartland virus — have been detected in New York State in recent years, and rare tick-borne illnesses like babesiosis are infecting more people year by year.
Other tick species are also becoming more prevalent; new species have established themselves in the Bronx and Staten Island.
The developments — new ticks, new pathogens and rising cases of rare diseases — are leading experts to rethink their advice for avoiding tick bites. One new species of tick, for instance, seems to prefer manicured lawns over shady wooded areas, surprising experts.
Source: The New York Times
