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Avoiding Ticks and Lyme Disease This Summer

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. This spiral-shaped bacterium is most commonly spread by a tick bite. The disease takes its name from Lyme, Conn., where the illness was first identified in the U.S. back in 1975.

The following ticks carry the bacteria:

  • Black-legged deer tick (northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and North-Central U.S.)
  • Western black-legged tick (Pacific coastal U.S.)

April through October is considered tick season, although Lyme disease is a year-round problem. Cases of Lyme disease have been reported in nearly all states in the U.S. in addition to Europe and Asia — including Georgia — but the most common areas are the Northeast, upper Midwest and northwestern states.

How to prevent tick bites and Lyme disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides free educational materials on how you can prevent ticks and Lyme disease, as well as recognize the symptoms.

Below is advice for summer hikers and campers — just in time for summer vacation season!
 

Get Healthy, Live Well




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