Here come the ticks: is global warming leading to an increase in Lyme disease?

It’s all about acorns, apparently. I’m a little surprised they didn’t bring up lack of wolves/coyote control leading to more foxes…

Climatologists have been warning us about the ongoing and impending consequences of global warming for years. But the results of climate change affect more than just polar bears and penguins – if you live anywhere in the northeastern, north-central or west coast states of the U.S.., you could be at a greater risk for contracting Lyme Disease.

Lyme disease is an infection of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium that is spread through black legged ticks (otherwise known as deer ticks) who feed on the white footed mouse species, also known as the wood mouse, which carries the bacteria. The symptoms of the disease itself include fever, headache, fatigue, and a telltale “bulls eye” rash near the site of the tick-bite. Left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to affect the joints (causing arthritis), heart, and nervous system – often causing irritability and mood swings.

Lyme disease transmission occurs in a Reservoir à Vector à Host cycle. A Reservoir is the habitat in which an infectious agent normally lives, grows and multiplies – in this case, it is the white-footed mouse. A disease vector is a carrier animal (usually an arthropod) that transfers an infective agent from one host to another- i.e. the blacklegged tick. And the host in this scenario is an organism that harbors an infective agent – us, our pets, and other animals.

Lyme disease is transmitted when a nymphal (young) tick feeds on a B. burgdorferi carrying white-footed mouse. The contaminated bloodmeal that it ingests allows the bacterium to live on in the tick (the vector), and the infected tick can then transmit the bacteria to its next host – a dog, your child, you, or any other animal roaming around in a wooded area.

Nearly a quarter of all Lyme disease cases are in children, as they play near to the ground, where host-seeking ticks are often waiting. The CDC reports that pet owners and outdoorsy types are also at higher risk, as dogs and people traipsing through thick brush can easily pick up a tick or two without realizing it.

Science Blogs