Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/articl...set-to-explode-and-you-cant-protect-yourself/
29 March 2017
Lyme disease is set to explode and we still don?t have a vaccine
A new prediction says 2017 and 2018 will see major Lyme disease outbreaks in new areas. This could lead to lifelong health consequences, so where's the vaccine?
Lyme
Mike Peres/Custom Medical Stock Photo/SPL
By Chelsea Whyte
BY THE time he had finished his walk through the woods in New York state, Rick Ostfeld was ready to declare a public health emergency. He could read the warning signs in the acorns that littered the forest floor ? seeds of a chain of events that will culminate in an unprecedented outbreak of Lyme disease this year.
Since that day in 2015, Ostfeld has been publicising the coming outbreak. Thanks to a changing climate it could be one of the worst on record: the ticks that carry the disease have been found in places where it has never before been a problem ? and where most people don?t know how to respond. The danger zone isn?t confined to the US: similar signs are flagging potential outbreaks in Europe. Polish researchers predict a major outbreak there in 2018.
In theory, Ostfeld?s early warning system gives public health officials a two-year window to prepare. In many other cases, this would be enough time to roll out a vaccination programme. But there is no human vaccine for Lyme disease. Why not? And what can you do to protect yourself in the meantime?...
29 March 2017
Lyme disease is set to explode and we still don?t have a vaccine
A new prediction says 2017 and 2018 will see major Lyme disease outbreaks in new areas. This could lead to lifelong health consequences, so where's the vaccine?
Lyme
Mike Peres/Custom Medical Stock Photo/SPL
By Chelsea Whyte
BY THE time he had finished his walk through the woods in New York state, Rick Ostfeld was ready to declare a public health emergency. He could read the warning signs in the acorns that littered the forest floor ? seeds of a chain of events that will culminate in an unprecedented outbreak of Lyme disease this year.
Since that day in 2015, Ostfeld has been publicising the coming outbreak. Thanks to a changing climate it could be one of the worst on record: the ticks that carry the disease have been found in places where it has never before been a problem ? and where most people don?t know how to respond. The danger zone isn?t confined to the US: similar signs are flagging potential outbreaks in Europe. Polish researchers predict a major outbreak there in 2018.
In theory, Ostfeld?s early warning system gives public health officials a two-year window to prepare. In many other cases, this would be enough time to roll out a vaccination programme. But there is no human vaccine for Lyme disease. Why not? And what can you do to protect yourself in the meantime?...