Knowledge is Power when it comes to Ticks and Mosquitoes
Ticks and mosquitoes have come out to play! The bug season has arrived and these tiny pest are out making a nuisance of themselves. Not only inflicting upon us irritating, itchy bites but also the threat of disease. Here’s some that you should be looking out for.
Tick and Mosquito Diseases to Watch This Season
Mosquito and tick season is upon us once again, and with it a new roster of diseases to worry about. Zika may have faded from the headlines, but yellow fever (which is spread by the same mosquito as the Zika virus) and Powassan (which is spread by ticks, but like Zika also causes neurological symptoms) seem poised to take its place.
Along with the ‘usual suspects’ we are becoming more aware of the Powassan virus and the potential threat it can have to our health.
Powassan could become a greater public health threat than Lyme disease: Yale researcher
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), their has been approximately 75 cases of Powassan virus disease reported in the United States over the past 10 years. Most cases have occurred in the Northeast and Great Lakes region. While that seems small compared to the major tickborne disease, Lyme disease, which the CDC reports more than 30,000 cases annually in the US and estimates more than 300,000 cases per year, Professor Durland Fish of the Yale School of Public Health says Powassan has the potential to become a serious public health concern
Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of not only Powassan but the likes of Zika, Yellow fever, Lyme disease, Chikungunya and all the other potentially harmful viruses out there. Knowledge is power to protect yourself from these tiny but terrifying beasts.
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