"As many as 476,000 people in the U.S. contract Lyme disease each year. For most people, symptoms go away after two to four weeks of antibiotics, but five to 10 percent of patients have debilitating, long-term symptoms." #lymedisease pbs.org/newshour/show/what-m…

This nymphal "western black-legged tick" from Marin County, California, tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease).

[NEW STUDY] The prevalence of Lyme disease in forest workers in Santa Cruz, CA I practice in northern California, and the prevailing belief about #Lymedisease in California by conventional medicine is #Lyme disease does not exist. It is widely accepted that Lyme disease exists on the East Coast, where it was initially discovered, but ticks were being studied in California in the 1970s when Lyme was discovered in Lyme, CT. #Ticks commonly attach to birds and migrate between the northern and southern hemispheres and the east and west coasts. Anytime I see a new study about Lyme disease in California, I like to get the word out that Lyme and other tickborne infections exist here. This new study compared forest management workers with people participating in recreational activities in Santa Cruz County. Both groups were tested for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease (#Borreliaburgdorferi) and Anaplasma and Rickettsia species of bacteria with antibody and DNA-based tests. Both groups also completed a questionnaire to identify shortcomings in knowledge and prevention practices about tickborne infections. Forest workers had a higher percentage of Lyme antibodies than the public; however, antibodies to Rickettsia were more common in the public group. There was an 11% increase in the odds of having a tick bite in the forest management group for every year they worked. Both groups had a significant knowledge gap about tickborne infections and preventative practices. Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3868…