Vector Borne Diseases: Infections spread by ticks and mosquitoes

Malaria: an epidemic

Malaria kills between one and two million people every year—mostly children under the age of five in developing countries. That’s the equivalent of ten 747 jumbo jets crashing every day. And things are getting worse—malaria is making a comeback….

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West Nile Virus: an exotic disease

West Nile Virus was first detected in North America in dead crows at the Bronx Zoo in New York City during the summer of 1999. Through the summer, dead birds were found in the Zoo and throughout the Bronx. Then elderly people in Queens came down with a mysterious illness….

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Lyme Disease: ecology out of balance

In the mid-1970s fifty-one people in the town of Lyme, Connecticut came down with what looked like Rheumatoid Arthritis. By the early 1980s the outbreak was linked to a bacterial infection that is carried by ticks. Ticks usually feed on deer and mice. Reforestation put humans into the path of an emerging infection...

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[img_assist|nid=1469|title=Tick|desc=[Credit] William Nicholson, PhD|link=node|align=left|width=200|height=145]
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Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that is spread by the deer tick, also called the black-legged tick. Partially due to reforestation, which increased the population of the deer tick, Lyme disease re-emerged in the US in the 1970s. Today Lyme disease is the most wide spread vector-borne disease in the United States.

Lyme disease lifecycle
Symptoms
Ecology and Lyme disease
Prevention

[Credit] William Nicholson, PhD

Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.

[Credit] William Nicholson, PhD

Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.

Please contact us if you have questions about the rights on this image.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there were 1,023 recorded cases of Lyme Disease in Minnesota in 2004. This number is more than double the 473 cases reported in 2003. The increase could be the result of mild winters that have allowed the deer and field mice that the deer ticks feed on to survive the winters in greater numbers.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious bacterial infection that can result in flu like symptoms and if untreated can lead to arthritis, nervous system problems and persistent fatigue. Antibiotic treatment is effective, especially if treatment is begun during the early stages.

The disease is spread when an infected deer tick attaches itself to a person. Not all deer ticks are infected with the bacteria, so not all deer ticks will transmit the disease. In order for the infection to be transferred from an infected deer tick to a person, the tick needs to be attached for at least 24 hours.

To protect yourself from contracting Lyme disease you should avoid tick habitats, if possible. If avoiding tick habitats is not possible, use a tick repellent containing DEET and wear light-colored clothes so you can more easily spot a deer tick on you. Check for ticks after being in their habitats and if you find a tick on you, remove it as soon as possible.

Tags : disease, lyme, mice, tick, vector borne, deer, Borrelia burgdorferi

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