Lyme-carrying ticks live longer--and could spread farther--thanks to warmer winters

[Judi Lynn]

Experiments suggest infection makes ticks more active in winter
7 JAN 20224:35 PM BY ELIZABETH PENNISI

PHOENIX—Fearing a case of potentially debilitating Lyme disease, countless hikers postpone their trips to the woods until winter, when the ticks that carry the disease have disappeared for the season. Or so many people had thought.

Research reported here this week at the annual meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology has revealed black-legged ticks infected with the Lyme disease–causing microbe thrive in below-freezing weather and can be active even in winter. The finding suggests the variable winter conditions brought on by climate change could increase ticks’ activity, boosting the odds that people will encounter the ticks and come down with Lyme disease.

In the United States, cases of Lyme disease have tripled in the past 20 years, making it the most common infection in North America transmitted from animals to people. Up to 476,000 people a year come down with this flulike illness, which is often heralded by a characteristic “bull’s-eye” skin rash. Sometimes the pathogen—the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi—invades the brain, nerves, heart, and joints, causing arthritis or permanent nerve damage; about 1.6 million people in the United States have chronic problems that can last years.

By 2016, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and its cousin, the western black-legged tick (I. pacificus), had spread to half of all counties in the United States. In 2020, the National Institutes of Health put up an additional $6 million to combat tick-borne diseases. Recent advances are promising: In November 2021, a messenger RNA vaccine that targets ticks themselves proved its worth in early animal trials.

More:
https://www.science.org/content/article/lyme-carrying-ticks-live-longer-and-could-spread-farther-thanks-warmer-winters

[PortTack]

1. Suffered a 2 yr long undiagnosed case of Lyme....terrible terrible disease

It would be great if they come up with something to combat it.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. I had a cousin who contracted lyme disease.

It knocked him down in the prime of his life. He suffered for several years but it got the best of him. He committed suicide in his 30's.

We suspect it was because he was in so much pain but was never able to find a physician who didn't insist that the pain was "all in his head." It's a terrible thing.

[dem4decades]

3. Well it was down to 4 last night, hope that kills a few of the little bastards.

Probably not.

[Red Pest]

4. This was known 20 years ago. Now it is as obvious as pie in your face.

A tick ecologist, with whom I used to collaborate, pointed this (the effects of warm winters) out at least 20 years ago.

Additionally, the black legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the vector for not just Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease). It also transmits anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Borrelia miyamotoi disease, Powassan virus disease, and ehrlichiosis. Lyme disease is, fortunately, easy to treat with a course antibiotics. The problem is recognizing that one is infected and following this up with a blood test. It is one of the most under- and over-diagnosed infections. Again remember that I. scapularis vector can transmit any or all of the several diseases mentioned above.

Proper early diagnosis is key to an easy course of treatment and recovery. Also do tick checks after hiking is areas that have ticks and also check after working in your yard if you live in a tick-infested area.