• Test reports in the Field of Health, Fitness and Medicine
  • Data Protection
  • Impressum
  • Sitemap
  • Home
  • Uncategorized
  • Lyme Disease High-Risk Areas Revealed in New Map
  • 27. October 2020
  • 0 comments
  • Maria Bauer
  • Uncategorized

Lyme Disease High-Risk Areas Revealed in New Map

An extensive field study has identified areas of the U.S. where people have the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention(CDC).

The study found that high infection risk is mainly confined to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest regions of the country.

Lyme disease is one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America, and there were nearly 30,000 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. in 2009, according to the CDC. People are infected with bacteria that cause Lyme disease when they are bitten by an infected deer tick .

“A better understanding of where Lyme disease is likely to be endemic is a significant factor in improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment,” study researcher Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, of the Yale School of Public Health, said in a statement. “People need to know where to take precautions to avoid tick bites.”

Helping Make the Right Diagnosis

The public can use the map to see whether they have been to high risk areas, and to learn whether areas they are preparing to visit have has been identified as having a high infection risk, and so take the proper precautions.

The new findings will also be beneficial to doctors attempting to diagnose — or rule out — Lyme disease in their patients, by providing health officials with critical information on actual local risk, according to the researchers.

“Doctors may be less likely to suspect and test for Lyme disease if they are unaware a patient was in a risky area and, conversely, they may act too aggressively and prescribe unneeded and potentially dangerous treatments if they incorrectly believe their patient was exposed to the pathogen,” Diuk-Wasser said.

The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Tick Hunters

To collect data for the study, scientists studied 304 sites from Maine to Florida, and across the Midwest, between 2004 and 2007. At each location, the “tick hunters” combed for Lyme disease-carrying ticks called black legged ticks with a square of light-colored corduroy cloth.

The findings showed a clearly heightened risk of Lyme disease in large parts of the Northeast, from Maine going as far south as Maryland and northern Virginia.

The researchers also identified a separate and distinct Lyme disease risk region in the upper Midwest that includes most of Wisconsin, a large area in northern Minnesota, and a sliver of northern Illinois.

The researchers noted that the study did not examine risk in the West, where Lyme disease is believed to be confined to areas along the Pacific Coast, and where a different tick species, known as the western blacklegged tick, carries the bacteria.

A study of infected tick populations is a better predictor of an area's Lyme disease risk than reports of human infections, according to the researchers. They said that using human cases to determine areas of risk can be misleading due to the high level of “underreporting and misdiagnosis” of the disease.

The study also found that infected ticks may colonize a region long before they infect a person with Lyme disease, which means risk can be significant even without a confirmed case.

Lyme Cases in the South

The South was rated as having a low infection risk, according to the survey findings.

“There has been a lot of discussion of whether Lyme disease exists outside of the Northeast and the upper Midwest, but our sampling of tick populations at hundreds of sites suggests that any diagnosis of Lyme disease in most of the South should be put in serious doubt, unless it involves someone who has traveled to an area where the disease is common,” Diuk-Wasser said.

Pass it on: High Lyme disease infection risk is mainly confined to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest regions of the U.S., while the South has a low infection risk.

Follow Remy Melina on Twitter @remymelina, and follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND. Like us on Facebook.

  • Top 10 Mysterious Diseases
  • 9 Creatures That Could Save Your Life
  • • 10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species
Maria-Cakehealth
Maria Bauer

Maria is our expert for medicine, fitness and general health. Her contributions are particularly convincing through completeness, accuracy and her own personal experience. Maria also writes for other health magazines, which has enabled her to build up her expert status.

Leave Comment

or cancel reply

Suche
Beliebte Beiträge
  • 7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health
    • 18. February 2021
    • 0
  • For Women, Sex May Be Improved by ‘Mindfulness Meditation’
    • 18. February 2021
    • 0
  • Autistic Brain Excels at Recognizing Patterns
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Swine Flu May Cause Baldness
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Dogs’ Contagious Cancer Cells May Survive By Theft
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Are You Sitting Down? If You’re a College Senior, Probably
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • New Test May Screen Donated Blood for Fatal Disease-Causing Proteins
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Exercise Can’t Undo the Damage of Too Much Screen Time
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Melanoma Drug Shrinks Tumors, Study Finds
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Co-Conspirator Cells Contribute to Skin Cancer
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • YouTube May Help Elderly Dementia Patients
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Brain Functioning Decline Higher in Southern ‘Stroke Belt’
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • 8 Tips for Healthy Aging
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Alzheimer’s Vs. Normal Aging: How to Tell the Difference
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Soy Compounds May Cut Risk of Some Breast Cancers
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Estrogen May Curb Breast Cancer As Well As Promote It
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Flu Season Worse Than Usual
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Most Young Flu Victims Had Not Been Vaccinated, Fatality Report Says
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Indoor Tanners Use Beds Despite Boosting Skin Cancer Risk
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Gene Therapy May Ease Tremors in Parkinson’s Patients
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Alzheimer’s Often Misdiagnosed Until Later On
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • In Trauma Patients, Steroids May Reduce Pneumonia Risk
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Will USDA’s New ‘Plate’ Icon Make a Difference in American Diets?
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Can Changing Your Diet Decrease Your Risk of Alzheimer’s?
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Preventive Measures Against Alzheimer’s Still Uncertain, Report Finds
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Exercise During Pregnancy Benefits Baby’s Heart
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Hypertension Death Rate Drops, But Fatalities Still High
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • More Years of Schooling Have Healthful Effect on Blood Pressure
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Heavy Beer Drinkers Increase Their Gastric Cancer Risk
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Weight Gain: How Food Actually Puts on Pounds
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Want a Smaller Waist? Take More Breaks From Sitting
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • New Rules on Vitamin D and Calcium: Most People Get Enough
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • For Melanoma Patients, Arthritis Drug Could Treat Disease
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Brain Overgrowth in Tots Is Linked to Autism
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Airborne Mad Cow Disease Possible, But Unlikely
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Most High School Kids Don’t Get Enough Exercise, CDC Reports
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Is the 17 Day Diet Just Another Weight-Loss Gimmick?
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Lead Exposure May Delay Puberty in Girls
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • The Healthy Geezer: Does Mercury Cause Cancer?
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • 11% of Infants Born Preterm Worldwide
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Severe Morning Sickness Linked to Preterm Births
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • More Money and No Dad Could Mean Early Puberty in Girls
    • 9. February 2021
    • 0
  • Too Little or Too Much Sleep May Raise Heart, Stroke Risks
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Relapse Common for Teens Who Overcome Depression
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Repeated Miscarriages May Increase Women’s Heart Attack Risk
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Earlier Detection of Dangerous Ectopic Pregnancies Possible with New Marker
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • It’s in the Blood: New Hope for Detecting Schizophrenia
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Alcohol Abuse May Lead to Marriage Postponement, Separation
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Marriage Trouble Could Mean Poor Sleep for Baby
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0
  • Weight-Loss Surgery May Improve Memory
    • 8. February 2021
    • 0

Copyright © 2020 by cakehealth.com

Impressum|Data Protection | Sitemap EN|Sitemap DE