CDC To Start Tracking The Nation’s Tick Population

[Wally]

https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/news/20190327/cdc-to-start-tracking-ticks-as-diseases-rise

[QUOTE] March 27, 2019 -- The CDC for the first time will be monitoring the nation’s tick population and the diseases the pests may be carrying.

The effort comes as the number of people diagnosed with serious diseases caused by things like ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes has more than doubled over the past few decades. Ticks caused the vast majority of those diseases.

Its aim is to assess where Americans might be most likely to get a tick-borne illness...[/QUOTE]

 

[Hip]

This map shows the tick threat in the UK.

 

[Wolfcub]

Thanks for that UK map @Hip
Lots of Ticks on land where I live. I have heard of many cases of Lyme too.

Dogs are at great risk too. They can get very sick from Lyme. Especially long haired dogs, as it's hard to find Ticks on them before they really latch on.

I have heard there is a "safety window" of time to get a Tick off, and if that's done quickly there is low risk of disease....but unsure about that fact. However, the dog I had never got Lyme. She got many Ticks and they were all taken off quickly.

 

[duncan]

Cool Tick map. It would be cooler still if they identified the tick species relevant to those colored geographies, seeing as how species will often determine pathogen load. Some tick species can communicate five or more diseases or parasites to humans with a single bite, some species communicate zilch no matter how long they may nibble away - and some tick species seem to be altogether uninterested in a human meal.

 

[Wolfcub]

Yep....those variables are definitely something to think about @duncan

 

[duncan]

A problem is that some ticks once proclaimed to be safe, are now being re-labled as potentially dangerous. Or dangerous ticks with things like powassan vuris or Bourban virus or Master's Disease or B miymoto or TBEi, are showing up in places they shouldn't

Relative to this UK tick map, I would imagine its utility is somewhat compromised by the 20 or so tick species that are native to the UK, each of which carries a different questing and feeding profile.

 

[Hip]

It would be cooler still if they identified the tick species relevant to those colored geographies, seeing as how species will often determine pathogen load.

If you zoom into the map, you will see where individual ticks were found and identified (see the tiny colored dots). Most of the dots seem to be green, which is according to the key is Ixodes ricinus.

 

[duncan]

I tried, but wasn't able to,; that;s just me, though. I'm glad they provide that kind of detail. What a useful idea! Hopefully the CDC will take note. Thanks!

 

[Hip]

I tried, but wasn't able to,; that;s just me, though.

You just have to press the + plus button at the bottom of the map a few times to zoom in, and it will then look like this:

The tiny green and red dots are the locations where a tick was found on a pet by a local vet, and the large green drop pins are the veterinary clinics.