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The NIHA doctors are already seeing a lot of tick bites and Lyme disease due to the mild winter, early spring and other indicators of a large tick population in 2012. The Washington Post ran an article this week in which Dr. Paul Beals is quoted:
*Excerpted from the The Washington Post:
Paul Beals, a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease at National Integrated Health Associates in the District, says, "We're finding that the vast majority of our patients who are getting tick bites causing Lyme are also getting other co-infections at the same time," including such febrile illnesses as bartonella, which can be transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes, as well as babesiosis and ehrlichiosis.
Beals notes that infection rates may be even higher this year, thanks to a bumper crop of acorns in 2010 that swelled the local population of such rodents as the white-footed mouse, which passes the Lyme pathogen on to ticks. "It's usually two years after that when we have a big surge of Lyme, and especially with the mild winter and early spring [which have bugs biting earlier], it's clear that this is going to be a bad year for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases," Beals said. Read more...
*Butler, Carolyn (2012, April 23). Mosquitos, ticks and other insects will be plentiful this season, experts say. Retrieved from The Washington Post.
NIHA Information on Lyme Disease and Co-infections:
Lyme Disease and Insect-borne Illness
Lyme Disease Prevention Tips
Should you find a tick:
1. remove the tick immediately
2. save the tick in a plastic baggie with a damp cotton ball (ticks can be tested)
3. call our office or your primary care physician as soon as possible.
1. remove the tick immediately
2. save the tick in a plastic baggie with a damp cotton ball (ticks can be tested)
3. call our office or your primary care physician as soon as possible.
