Tick and Mosquito Infections Spreading Rapidly, C.D.C. Finds
Source: The New York Times
Global Health
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. MAY 1, 2018
The number of people who get diseases transmitted by mosquito, tick and flea bites has more than tripled in the United States in recent years, federal health officials reported on Tuesday. Since 2004, at least nine such diseases have been newly discovered or introduced into the United States.
Warmer weather is an important cause of the surge in cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the lead author of a study in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. But the author, Dr. Lyle R. Petersen, the agency’s director of vector-borne diseases, repeatedly declined to connect the increase to the politically fraught issue of climate change, and the report does not mention either climate change or global warming.
Many other factors are at work, he emphasized, while noting that “the numbers on some of these diseases have gone to astronomical levels.”
C.D.C. officials called for more support for state and local health departments. Local agencies “are our first line of defense,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, the C.D.C.’s new director. “We must enhance our investment in their ability to fight these diseases.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/health/ticks-mosquitoes-diseases.html
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The dogs wouldn't normally get sick from flea bites, but they can carry the insects into your house. Your pet's flea collar should be replaced every spring and they're only good for one season.
Look out for deer ticks - especially in the suburban areas or if you're hiking in the woods. Deer ticks are small and burrow under clothes, they're hard to see before you get bitten. Deer ticks carry Lyme disease, which can be serious if not treated. Lyme disease must be treated by a physician, but it's usually not the first thing the doctor would suspect. (Lyme disease symptoms can fool doctors into giving an incorrect diagnosis, so be sure to tell them if you've been in the woods recently.)
