Researchers say the cumulative effect of arid conditions during recent summers could be killing ticks, and possibly explain why there have been significantly fewer cases of Lyme disease reported in Maine this year. Lyme disease cases are on track to be the lowest in at least three years, and the hot, dry weather this summer […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lyme cases decline this summer, perhaps due to hot, dry weather
The number of Lyme disease cases has declined so far this summer compared to last year, and experts say the hot and dry weather may be responsible, by causing the ticks that carry the disease to go into a dormant, near hibernation-like state. Charles Lubelczyk, field biologist at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Weak government response to ticks threatens public health
Maine’s invasion came early this year. In recent hotbeds of tick activity – from Scarborough to Belfast and Brewer – people say they spotted the eight-legged arachnid before spring. They noticed the ticks – which look like moving poppyseeds – encroaching on roads, beaches, playgrounds, cemeteries and library floors. They saw them clinging to dogs, […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, River Valley, Rumford Falls Times
Rumford woman credits spirit-led healer with treating Lyme disease
RUMFORD — Lori McPherson of Rumford says she’s been sick for more than half her 51 years, “just crazy things, eyesight floaters, my joints, my memory, the pain like barbed wire in my blood and all-over body pain that’s crippling.” Eventually, her doctors ruled out multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. Around 2008 she was diagnosed with […]
Posted inbPlus, sj-web
Swat's in store for you this summer?!?
Read our Maine bug primer before the season lands on you. Maine has a lot of things going for it. Pristine lakes. Gorgeous views. Nature trails. Miles of beaches. And billions of mosquitoes and ticks ready and willing to saddle up to Cafe You for a snack. Like the views and the beaches, the creepy […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Ticks that carry Lyme disease surviving even deep-freeze winters, research shows
Mainers may have suffered through an extended winter and March snowstorms, but researchers believe the harsh season had little impact on the deer ticks that carry Lyme disease. As the weather has warmed this month – including some days when temperatures reached the 70s and 80s – the arachnids have emerged from a hibernation-like state […]
Posted inConnections, sj-web, Uncategorized
Lyme Disease to be topic of education, awareness event
LEEDS — Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education will host a Lyme Disease Awareness and Education event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at the Leeds Central School, 1185 Route 106. Dr Beatrice Szantyr of MaineLyme will join them and share her community Tick Talk. The event is free and open to […]
Posted inBethel, sj-web
Snowy winter means more ticks this season
With the warmer weather comes a new warning about tick season. It turns out, our harsh winter may actually mean the upcoming tick season will be worse than usual. Researchers said the heavy snow pack acted as a protective blanket for ticks and that will lead to more insects than usual. May is Lyme Disease […]
Posted inMaine
Lyme disease sufferer endorses regulatory relief bill
AUGUSTA — For Bill Whitten, “alternative treatment” for Lyme disease means something different than it does for most people. He’s spent hours practicing various forms of martial arts, focusing intently on channelling negative energy out of his body. He’s been stung hundreds of times by bees. On purpose. He’s stood for hours in the ocean, […]
Posted inMaine, New England, sj-web
2014 a big Lyme disease year in upper New England
PORTLAND — Environmental factors and improved reporting methods led to another year of high Lyme disease totals in northern New England. Reported cases are expected to be on par with or even top recent records set in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Maine is likely to exceed last year’s record of 1,384 cases of the […]