Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Socks — especially permethrin-treated socks — and other protective clothing can help keep you safe from tick-borne illnesses. Watch this video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health for tips on dressing to keep Lyme disease at bay.
How you dress can make a difference in whether or not you contract Lyme disease from a tick bite, according to Martha's Vineyard health officials. "You can actually reduce your risk" by dressing defensively, says Matt Poole, Edgartown's health officer. Poole and other Island experts say wearing socks — yes, even with sandals —and tucking pant legs securely inside those socks is a good way to cut down on your exposure to the biting, disease-carrying arachnids that are everywhere on the Vineyard this time of year. You can up your protection level by wearing socks impregnated with the tickicide permethrin, Poole explains in this video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health and Martha's Vineyard Productions. For more about ticks and how …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Dogs and other animals can suffer from Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, much as humans do. This video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health shows how you can protect your dogs — and your family.
We're heading into peak season for ticks and tick-borne illnesses on Martha's Vineyard, where Lyme disease diagnoses spike during the late spring and summer. The human misery caused by Lyme is well-documented, but animals can also fall victim to the disease. "Dogs, we know, suffer," said Edgartown health officer Matt Poole, who with other board of health officials on the Vineyard is conducting a five-year study of tick-borne diseases. To help pet-owners reduce the risk of their dogs getting bitten, and of pets bringing ticks home to infect humans, the Martha's Vineyard Tick Borne Illness Program commissioned this informational video with Island veterinarian Dr. Steven Atwood. Find out more about ticks and preventing the diseases they carry…
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Tick season has arrived and it's wise to look for ticks on yourself, your children and pets after being outdoors. Spotting ticks promptly is key to avoiding Lyme and other diseases they may carry, experts say.
Among the budding flowers and greening grass, another sign of spring has arrived: ticks. The evidence? Two ticks, one on each of my dogs, I found recently. Find out more about ticks in our Tick Season Survival Guide. One dog had a tick on her snout; the other dog had a tick on her head that I found while petting her. Both ticks were about the size of a pinhead, and attached, but not yet engorged. I was able to remove them, and promptly gave both dogs a dose of K9 Advantix, which I had stopped using for a few months this winter. I also checked the rest of the dogs' bodies for more ticks, finding none. With evidence that tick season is here, it's a good reminder to check yourself, your children and your pets after being outdoors. "Martha's …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Martha's Vineyard is crawling with ticks in May and June, but don't let that bug you. Public health experts have some tick tips for a safe season.
Martha's Vineyard is a paradise for more than humans: Abundant open space and a lack of natural predators have led to deer populations estimated at 40 to 60 deer per square mile, according to the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health. With deer come deer ticks — as many 5,000 ticks per deer, including offspring of pregnant ticks — and Lyme disease infections, which peak on the Island in May and June and again during the November hunting season. "Martha's Vineyard is an endemic area for tick-borne disease," said Michael Loberg, Tisbury board of health commissioner and a member of the Island-wide Tick Borne Illness Prevention Program. And, Loberg said, those most at risk are children, who have an even higher rate of infection than landscape …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Disease not yet named, but can be treated with the same antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease.
A new tick-borne disease, not yet named, with symptons similiar to Lyme disease and treated with the same antibiotics, was found in a patient from Nantucket, according to the Cape Cod Times. The infection is from a bacterium called Borrelia miyamoti and is transmitted by the deer tick. The Yale School of Public Health and Medicine discovered "evidence of the disease in 18 patients in Southern New England and New York," reported the Cape Cod Times. For more information on the new tick-borne illness read the full report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Friday, June 29, 2012
An Amherst woman dealing with long-term Lyme disease is dedicated to spreading awareness.
Martha's Vineyard residents and vistors alike are no strangers to ticks, and unfortunately to Lyme disese and other tick borne illnesses. Reaching out and educating our kids about how to protect themselves from such diseases can be tough. That's why one woman is using a very different approach to get their attention and teach them about a very serious health problem: Lyme disease. Sandy Lafleur, an assistant to the nurse at Milford High School in Amherst, MA wrote and recorded a rap song called “Tick Talk Rap” that explains the tick-induced bacterial infection and how to prevent it. Students Darrick Jones and Dillon Harwood joined her in the nurse’s office during the school day and they recorded the song right there and then. The music and…
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
MV Boards of Health release new segment of tick borne illness videos
The Martha’s Vineyard Boards of Health have released a new segment of their Tick Borne Illness video produced by Martha’s Vineyard Productions. Click Here to see the video: "Tick Borne Illness Symptoms and Treatment."
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Arrival of nymphs is five weeks ahead of schedule and last year’s adults are still around.
An article in the Cape Cod Times recently reported that the deer ticks have arrived – and they’ve arrived five weeks early. According to experts on the Vineyard, they never really left. This past year’s record warm temperatures has meant ticks all winter long. Matt Poole, Edgartown Board of Health agent said that people have been finding adults all winter and now the nymphs are definitely here. Larry Dapsis, entomologist with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Service, told the Cape Cod Times, “About 25 percent of the nymphs collected at 14 sites on Cape Cod and the Islands were carrying Lyme disease.” In addition to Lyme disease, deer ticks also transmit babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Babesiosis is similar to malaria and is particularly …
41.460296
-70.579562
Martha's Vineyard Hospital
1 Hospital Rd, Oak Bluffs, MA
/articles/ticks-are-back-actually-they-never-left
1804049
/locations/6921505
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health present the MD Overview
Check out this new video from the Martha's Vineyard Boards of Health and Martha's Vineyard Productions about Tick Borne Illness on the Island.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Have you ever had a tick-borne illness? Studies show incidence is underreported.
We know it's not June. We know it's not really the time when you're used to hearing about ticks. However, according to Deirdre Arvidson, a public health nurse for Barnstable County, “It is always the time to think about ticks.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) report statistics by state and sometimes by region, but often those reports are over a year old and, according to Arvidson, “They only report about 10% of what’s out there.” Lyme disease is more complicated than most people think. “If you get Lyme Disease in a straight forward way, you get bit and then within a week, you get the rash, then you go to doctor and get antibiotics and most likely it would go away. That’s the easy …
Richard Pollack
7:03 am on Sunday, May 12, 2013
Finding and promptly removing ticks (from a person or pet) can dramatically reduce risk of infection. Once the tick has been removed, have it identified. Only certain kinds of ticks can transmit the agents of Lyme disease, babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Other ticks may transmit other infections. The longer the tick is attached, the greater the risk of infection. Physical samples can be sent, or … more ›