Spring is quickly approaching, and we're looking forward to it, but with it comes ticks. With their season becoming longer due to warmer temperatures, we need to be on the lookout both earlier and later in the year for these annoying and dangerous parasites.
Be vigilant, check your family and animals frequently if they have been outside, and if
you are bitten, contact your health provider for treatment as soon as possible.
Ticks are a big problem to people
and animals in the Hudson Valley. A spike in their numbers as well as a growth
in the number of cases of the diseases they carry and transmit continues to grow.
READ MORE: Protect your family from tick bites and Lyme Disease
Unfortunately, studies show that
infections have increased across species of ticks, and have expanded to a greater area
of the Northeast and other parts of the US where the seasons have become warmer,
wetter – and longer. Places that didn’t have tick problems do now.
It's
not just Lyme disease, either.
A higher number of ticks test
positive for other human and animal disease pathogens, including viruses,
bacteria, rickettsiae, and protozoa. Transmitted through a single bite, these cause
diseases such as Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Powassan disease, and
many more.
The CDC has a full list
of what these arachnids carry, infecting us, our kids and our pets. Some of
them cause severe, chronic, disabling and even life-threatening conditions.
What
can we do?
- First and foremost, take ticks
seriously - practice personal protection behaviors to avoid bites as much as possible.
- Promptly remove attached ticks. This is
critically important to prevent infection.
- Clean the areas around your home where ticks like to live, such as high
grass, leaf and wood piles and low-hanging trees.
Stay
alert, but still enjoy!
Now that you’re prepared and
protected - go out and enjoy the beautiful terrain and spring air that the
Hudson Valley is known for!