Okay, I do not know is it was the strange winter we had (early, snow, the dry and cold, the warmish) or what, but the tick infection rate has changed. The first 6 ticks we had results for were all UNINFECTED!
This is a change because the first ticks we get results for are usually 59% infected then they taper down to about 35%.
I talk a lot about Lyme disease in Ticks because there is so much misinformation out there. there is hysteria and there is a passive "what about it response".
I do take the middle road. There is a lot that can be done effectively now that we know about it.
Then there are the other diseases and it caused me to think, why the focus on Lyme?
There is a simplistic reason.
Lyme is the test that for us humans is still not greatly understood and either is focus on by doctors too much 9ignoring symptoms) or not tested at all. There is a window where the test is best, so it makes sense to test a tick for Lyme.
All of the other diseases including Bartonella there are very good tests for humans and so testing a tick for all of them is not useful.
I say this because we really emphasis symptoms!
Why?
Once I was helping a friend capture some chickens he was raising that had gotten out of his coop (in North Stamford). I had to go through a field and found myself covered with ticks when I got out. It is not the tick that you find that you worry about, IT IS THE TICKS YOU DO NOT FIND that you worry about. They are just too darn small and hide in very difficult areas. Testing the tick you find is good. Checking for ticks is good. Being aware of symptoms after being in an area that ticks probably are, is what it is all about.
I will simply say that I am an expert in this field and my qualifications are in the side bar.
This is Me:
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this blog is the result of my many years of experience and does not necessarily represent the views or policy of any organization I belong to or work for.
Qualifications:
So the question is who am I?
How can I say anything about the environment?
I have worked in the environmental field for over 30 years, in a local Health Department, a not for profit environmental agency, a private environmental consulting lab and at a big oil company.
I have publish research papers on salt contamination from treatment discharges effecting well water and preemptive closures of bathing at beaches. I have presented at the American Public Health Association, The National Environmental Association, the Association for the Advancement of Sciences and the USEPA.
I have been an expert witness for environmental issues in various legal proceedings and my research and the information has influenced policy makers on all levels of government.
Finally, I have my Environmental R.S. License.
How can I say anything about the environment?
I have worked in the environmental field for over 30 years, in a local Health Department, a not for profit environmental agency, a private environmental consulting lab and at a big oil company.
I have publish research papers on salt contamination from treatment discharges effecting well water and preemptive closures of bathing at beaches. I have presented at the American Public Health Association, The National Environmental Association, the Association for the Advancement of Sciences and the USEPA.
I have been an expert witness for environmental issues in various legal proceedings and my research and the information has influenced policy makers on all levels of government.
Finally, I have my Environmental R.S. License.
Additional Information:
My work has not been confined to analytical chemistry or the environment since I deal with microbiology, entomology and epidemiology and a daily basis. I have worked with the Centers for disease Control (CDC), The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The Environmental Protection agency (USEPA) and various Connecticut State Environmental and Health Agencies in each of their areas of expertise, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Aquaculture and the Department of Health.
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1 comment:
I am constantly thinking about the symptoms because I am so often in areas where ticks are. I've found the worst places to be on power line trails certain times of the year.I've pulled off twenty of them after walking 100 yards.
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