Lyme Disease Facts: Climate Change Causing Rampant Spread in The US -- How to Protect Your Family From Tick Bites

An emerging infectious disease carried out by deer and mice ticks is alarmingly spreading, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC).

CBS News reports that environmental factors such as temperature change may have caused this rampage as per an interview with Dr. Bernard Raxlen, a Lyme Disease specialist. Time also confirms that climate change is indeed a factor. 

More so often, the ticks thrive in moist and humid environments as well as wooded and grassy areas. Forest clearings have caused white mice, the ticks' predators, to be absent for preying, leaving the ticks to proliferate in forest areas. Deers are the primary hosts of these Lyme Disease-causing ticks, called Ixodes scapularis, as cited by New York State Department of Health.

Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection brought by Borrelia burgdorferi. Time says that signs and symptoms of Lyme Disease include fever, fatigue, headache, itches, and rashes causing discomfort that may also lead to more serious illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis, joint infections, and heart and nervous system complications.

The NY State Department of Health further explains that the disease can affect any age group especially individuals exposed in woody and grassy environments, most actively during the summer time. Ticks life cycle develops over a month or longer from being an egg to a larvae to a nymph before emerging into an adult.

A number of counties in the country affected by the said disease had been increasing over time. Time also reports that researches have listed 320 percent increase in the countries distressed by these ticks.

Another release from CDC claimed that most of the places affected are New England, upper Midwest, and mid-Atlantic States wherein a significant amount of inhabitants are not informed. Time added that New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota are also affected.            

CDC listed several points on how to prevent your family from getting Lyme Disease like the use of repellents with DEET on skin and clothing and permethrin on clothing and gear, having ticks checked daily, being vigilant for rashes and fevers, contacting your doctors, maintaining backyards clean, and preventing ticks on your pets. It also advises to create a "tick-free zone" in your homes by mowing grasses regularly, removing litters, trimming tree branches, and moving bird feeders away from the house.

NY Department of Health also advises that the "best protection" when hiking, camping and hunting in tick-infested areas is wearing light-colored clothing, staying on cleared trails and avoiding sitting directly on the ground. It also warns to not touch the tick directly with bare hands as it may increase chances of infection.

The department also said that Lyme Disease can be treated with certain antibiotics.