- This is one of the many health-related consequences of global warming. I'm serious. See http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1102-disease.html Chicken Little was right! Dancing Strawberry --- k Sneed <sneed14@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!! > > http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/897E1D5ECEB29F23862572F20064FFC4?OpenDocument > Mo. issues tick warning > > By Tina Hesman Saey <tsaey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH > 06/06/2007 > > Officials at the Missouri Department of Health and > Senior Services are > warning residents to be wary of ticks. A child in > northeastern Missouri died > May 23 of an infection with a tick-carried bacterium > called Ehrlichia > chaffeensis. That is one of three types of bacteria > that cause the illness > known as ehrlichiosis. All three types are found in > Missouri. > > So far, the health department has confirmed 16 cases > of ehrlichiosis and is > investigating two other cases. On average, Missouri > has about 9 cases of the > diseases at this point during the year. > Cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever have more than > doubled this year. > State health officials have confirmed 54 cases of > the illness this season. > In an average year, only 22 cases would have been > seen by this time. > > Health officials have also had reports of 10 cases > of Lyme-like disease and > two cases of tularemia. > > Symptoms of the illness usually resemble the flu > with body aches, tiredness, > and fever, said Joyce Berkowitz, infection control > practitioner at SSM > Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Rocky Mountain > Spotted Fever usually > starts with a rash, but rashes appear in less than > half of people with > ehrlichiosis. > > The hospital has seen only two possible cases of > tick-borne illnesses this > year. Advertisement > > > "We usually start seeing stuff when the kids get out > of school and are in > vacation mode," Berkowitz said. > > Brian Allan, a biology graduate student at > Washington University, has been > tracking ticks for four years. It's too early in the > season to say if the > increase in diseases from tick bites are due to a > larger number of ticks. > In Illinois, the Department of Public Health has > had an increase in the > number ticks reported by veterinarians, doctors and > others, but people have > not fallen ill at a higher rate than usual. > > The increase in human illness may be due to a > greater percentage of ticks > carrying disease, Allan said. The infection rate is > determined largely by > population fluctuations in animals that serve as > reservoirs for the > diseases. > > For instance, a large number of infected > white-tailed deer last fall could > lead to an increase human disease now, he said. > White tailed deer carry > Ehrlichia chaffeensis. So Lonestar tick larvae could > have feasted on > infected deer last August or September, picking up > the infection. The ticks > over-winter and emerge as nymphs between May and > July. Ticks at the > nymph life stage are most likely to transmit disease > to people, because > nymphs are small and easy to miss and people often > don't feel the > ticks crawling on their skin, Allan said. > > Nymphs take a blood meal, drop off the host and > over-winter, emerging as > adults the following April. Adult ticks may also > infect people, but are more > noticeable and account for only a small number of > infections with tick-borne > diseases, Allan said. > > ----------- > > For more information: > > The Missouri Department of Health and Senior > Services > > *www.dhss.mo.gov/TicksCarryDisease/*<http://www.dhss.mo.gov/TicksCarryDisease/> > > The Illinois Department of Public Health > > *www.idph.state.il.us/public/hbhome.htm*<http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hbhome.htm> > > The National Center for Infectious Diseases at the > Centers for Disease > Control and Prevention page on Tick-Borne Illnesses > > *www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/list_tickborne.htm*<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/list_tickborne.htm> > Carol Strawberry "Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing." (William James) **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw