Category: Tick Bourne Diseases
A Potentially Life-Threatening Disease Caused by Ticks Is Expanding to New Parts of America
Smithsonian Magazine Babesiosis typically occurs in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, but new research suggests rare cases are emerging in the mid-Atlantic region including Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Babesiosis is a rare, tick-borne disease caused by a parasite that attacks the red blood cells and can lead to flu-like symptoms such as fever, body […]
May 14, 2025
A man died from a tick bite in Massachusetts. His family wants to prevent it from happening again.
CBS News The family of a Massachusetts man who died after a tick bite wants everyone to take ticks seriously and, if you get bitten by one, go see a doctor. Erin Boyce remembers the day her brother Kevin Boyce got sick after being bitten by a tick in April 2024. Kevin Boyce’s story “It […]
May 14, 2025
Critical Breakthrough in Understanding and Possibly Eradicating Lyme Disease
WIBX Researchers at VCU submitted their findings to mBio, claiming they discovered “the Achilles’ heel of Lyme disease bacterium Borreliella burgdorferi.” The weakness is found in the Lyme-causing bacteria itself, which is the lactate dehydrogenase (BbLDH) enzyme. Researchers say it is the crucial ingredient that helps the bacteria grow and spread through an infected host’s body. This unique enzyme […]
May 7, 2025
Ticks Pose an Increasing Health Risk
Johns Hopkins With no vaccines yet and limited treatment options, avoiding tick bites is our best bet in reducing the risk of tickborne illnesses. The vast majority of vector-borne diseases in the U.S. are caused by ticks and the viruses, bacteria, and parasites they carry. Between 2019-2022, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. reported cases of […]
Apr 30, 2025
We’re Releasing Millions Of Birds. The Ticks Are Thriving
Forbes Each summer in the U.K., up to 50 million pheasants are released into woods and fields for recreational shooting. At their seasonal peak, the biomass of these birds rivals that of all native U.K. breeding birds combined — an astonishing ecological intervention repeated year after year. The practice is legal, well-established and supports rural economies. But new evidence […]
Apr 23, 2025
A mysterious pathogen: Oropouche virus more common in Latin America than previously thought
Charite Like the dengue and Zika viruses, Oropouche virus causes a febrile illness. There are recent indications that infections during pregnancy can cause damage to unborn babies. Researchers at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now determined that the virus is much more widespread in Latin America than previously assumed. Their study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases,* […]
Apr 16, 2025
New Tick Virus in China Raises Concerns: Could It Pose a Global Threat?
MSN Could the “Wetland virus” be the next global health threat? Transmitted by ticks, this virus is raising concerns. First identified in China in 2019, this pathogen is emerging in wetland areas. Scientists are investigating its potential dangers. The story begins with a 61-year-old man who was bitten by a tick in Inner Mongolia. He […]
Nov 12, 2024
Another Reason to Hate Ticks
The Atlantic Their saliva is making some farmers allergic to their own cattle and sheep. When Clark Giles first heard about ticks making people allergic to meat, he found the notion so unbelievable, he considered it “hogwash.” Then, in 2022, it happened to him. Following a spate of tick bites, he ate a hamburger and […]
Oct 9, 2024
First human case of emerging tick-borne disease reported in Connecticut
NBC Local News The first locally acquired case of an emerging tick-borne disease has been reported in Connecticut. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station said this is the first locally acquired human case of Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis in Connecticut and it’s also the first report of the disease in the northeast. Dr. Peter Krause, a Yale […]
Oct 2, 2024
What Is Wetland Virus, China’s Newly-Discovered Tick-Borne Illness That Can Infect the Brain?
Prevention Tick-borne infections are on the rise, causing about half a million new illnesses in America each year. But while most people are familiar on some level with infections like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, there’s a new tick-borne infection to have on your radar. It’s called Wetland virus, and it’s a newly-discovered illness spotted in China […]
Sep 18, 2024