In the article "Lyme Disease Rates Rise in Northern US" by Karen Rowan, Lyme
disease is on the rise in the United States in the north eastern states and in
the northern Midwest but decreasing in the southern states. Between 1992 and
2007 there have been significant increases of Lyme disease in the northern US. Researchers wrote: “our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that
increases in Lyme disease incidence in recent decades are attributable at least
in part to the effects of climate change,".
Studies have suggested that the warming temperatures at
the northern latitudes allow the Ixodes ticks, which carry the bacteria that
cause Lyme disease, to migrate north. There seems to be a decrease in the south
because the temperature is warmer which allows the expansion of lizards, who
are “dead-end hosts”, which means that they do not transmit the disease to
humans.
When I
first read this article I was surprised that there is an increase in Lyme
disease in north eastern states in the US. I also was surprised it was because
of the climate changes because all the time we hear about how things are
changing because of global warming, but this is exactly like that.
The
climate changing has led the southern states to have an increase in lizard
populations, which led the Lyme disease carriers to travel north. In class, we’ve
learned about different modes of transmission and in this case the tick is the
carrier of the disease which attaches its self to humans, and animals. This
article has helped me see that Lyme disease is on the rise in the north eastern
states and to take preventative measures against getting the disease.
This image shows an adult female, an adult male, a nymph and a larva of the tick species Ixodes scapularis, which carries Lyme disease and babesiosis.
Credit: CDC, courtesy of Dr. Marc Dolan
Before reading this article I had actually forgotten about Lyme disease. It is interesting to hear that because of climate changes, the disease is on the rise. I would have thought that the number of cases would decrease.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article and I liked how you included pictures of tics. This article was relative to me because it I had lyme disease this summer and it stunk! Also thought it was interesting how the the increase of temps in the northern states have increased the tic population there.
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