At least 20 known health conditions can be caused by tick bite; The most common Lyme disease affects about 300,000 Americans each year. Meanwhile, doctors and researchers continue to discover new diseases associated with crawling insects.
"As tick populations continue to grow, as the infected tick expands geographically, the threat to human health is intensifying," the study group wrote. To highlight the necessity of taking action, the report contains stories from patients including Ruben Lee Sims.
In 1977, Sims, a Vietnamese veteran known as the "best management analyst of the year" by the US Air Force, was killed several years later with tick bites.
Unable to diagnose Lyme disease, the army dismissed Sims in 1984 and labeled her a pain as a hypochondriacal bladder caused by psychological factors. A year later, a non-military doctor was unable to make a diagnosis. Although he suspected Lyme disease, Sims had never been to New England, where the disease was common, so tick-borne disease was excluded from the list of possibilities.
"I was wrongly diagnosed for over thirty years and I was not treated for Lyme disease," Sims told the authors of the report. Today, this is no longer true. The VA, better equipped to diagnose the tick-borne disease, confirmed the pain of Sims as a symptom of Lyme disease and has no longer symptoms with appropriate treatment.
"Untreated patients can lose everything as I do, and may be part of the unemployed, unemployed, disabled and homeless population," Sims said. Said. Nowadays he shares his story to help others to be affected by tick-borne diseases.
Spread of Lyme disease
According to the report, cases of Lyme disease have doubled since 2004. Meanwhile, the geographic prevalence has also increased: In the report, the number of provinces considered to have a high incidence has increased by more than 300% in the northeastern states and by about 250% in the Northern Central states.
"The geographical range of cases of Lyme disease has expanded since its first appearance in 1975 in Lyme, Connecticut, and has continually spread north, south and west," the report said. The working group has at least a Çalışma 20. He argues that yüzyıl it may be due to ecological changes taking place in North America since the middle of the century, including living space and climate changes.
Although the report is less common on the west coast, Lyme disease is a major concern, as are other diseases caused by tick bites. Despite hundreds of thousands of estimated cases, only about 35,000 people are reported each year to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lyme disease is transmitted by infected deer ticks. Infected black tick tick, Western black-bellied ticks and lonely star ticks are also frequently transmitted in the United States.
Tick-borne diseases can be difficult to diagnose. Tests are not always accurate and healthcare providers may not know how to use them. In addition, patients may not have only one or two tick-borne disease at the same time.
The recommendations of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group include improving early and correct diagnosis and treatment, strengthening national surveillance, and developing new treatment options for the treatment of acute and persistent disease.
"For decades, tick-borne diseases have increased at an alarming rate," the committee said. Lik The continued spread of ticks, the discovery of new tick-borne pathogens, and the spread of the spread of human disease is a near certainty. “
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