Expert: Threat of Lyme disease increasing along with tick population

Expert: Threat of Lyme disease increasing along with tick population
By Shannon Hegy, WPRI-TV, Providence, Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in America, and health officials say this fall could bring an onslaught of the ticks that carry it.

The impacts of Lyme can range from serious pain to long-term effects, such as permanent memory loss.

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Dr. Tom Mather is the Director of University of Rhode Island's Tick Encounter Resource Center. He said right now, when most people think tick season should be over, adult stage deer ticks are coming in in droves, and with them comes a greater threat of Lyme disease.

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Doctors say 90% of people who get Lyme disease eventually recover with antibiotic treatment. Brian Follett is one of the 10% who didn't recover, though you'd never know it at first glance. He contracted Lyme disease when he was 11 years old, leaving him almost completely blind.

Expert: Threat of Lyme disease increasing along with tick population

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in America, and health officials say this fall could bring an onslaught of the ticks that carry it.

WPRI.COM