Lyme Disease

TICK BORNE ILLNESSES

Tick monitoring and control is lacking in much of the United States despite a steady increase in tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, a new study finds.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by Borrelia, a type of bacteria called a spirochaete. Lyme disease can affect any part of the body, most commonly the skin, central nervous system, joints, heart, and rarely the eyes and liver.

In the United States, tick-borne illnesses more than doubled between 2004 and 2018, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease

 Control(CDC) and Prevention.

Tick-borne infections cause significant morbidity and mortality around the world .  In the US, 400,000 new cases of Lyme borreliosis occur each year . Eighteen(18)  tick-borne illnesses that occur in the US .These are caused by bacterial, viral, and protozoal pathogens that have co-evolved with ticks and their vertebrate hosts.  

For the new study, the researchers surveyed tick management programs across the country. They found that less than half of public health and vector-control agencies do active tick surveillance, and only 12% directly conduct tick-control efforts. Vector-control agencies monitor pests like ticks and mosquitoes that can transmit diseases (like Lyme) to humans.

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