Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

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Edcyclopedia
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Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:26 am

Lyme Disease Surge Predicted for the Northeastern U.S.
Boom-and-bust acorn crops and a decline in mice leave humans vulnerable to infected ticks
Millbrook, NY – The northeastern U.S. should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring.
And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse populations, not the mild winter.
So reports Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.

What do acorns have to do with illness?
Acorn crops vary from year-to-year, with boom-and-bust cycles influencing the winter survival and breeding success of white-footed mice.
These small mammals pack a one-two punch:
they are preferred hosts for black-legged ticks and they are very effective at transmitting Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
“We had a boom in acorns, followed by a boom in mice.
And now, on the heels of one of the smallest acorn crops we’ve ever seen, the mouse population is crashing,” Ostfeld explains.
Adding, “This spring, there will be a lot of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected black-legged ticks in our forests looking for a blood meal.
And instead of finding a white-footed mouse, they are going to find other mammals—like us.”

For more than two decades, Ostfeld, Cary Institute forest ecologist Dr. Charles D. Canham,
and their research team have been investigating connections among acorn abundance, white-footed mice, black-legged ticks, and Lyme disease.
In 2010, acorn crops were the heaviest recorded at their Millbrook-based research site. And in 2011, mouse populations followed suit, peaking in the summer months.
The scarcity of acorns in the fall of 2011 set up a perfect storm for human Lyme disease risk.
Black-legged ticks take three bloodmeals—as larvae, as nymphs, and as adults. Larval ticks that fed on 2011’s booming mouse population will soon be in need of a nymphal meal.
These tiny ticks—as small as poppy seeds—are very effective at transmitting Lyme to people.
The last time Ostfeld’s research site experienced a heavy acorn crop (2006) followed by a sparse acorn crop (2007), nymphal black-legged ticks reached a 20-year high.

The May-July nymph season will be dangerous, and Ostfeld urges people to be aware when outdoors.
Unlike white-footed mice, who can be infected with Lyme with minimal cost, the disease is debilitating to humans.
Left undiagnosed, it can cause chronic fatigue, joint pain, and neurological problems.
It is the most prevalent vector-borne illness in the U.S., with the majority of cases occurring in the Northeast.
Ostfeld says that mild winter weather does not cause a rise in tick populations, although it can change tick behavior.
Adult ticks, which are slightly larger than a sesame seed, are normally dormant in winter but can seek a host whenever temperatures rise several degrees above freezing.

The warm winter of 2011-2012 induced earlier than normal activity.
While adult ticks can transmit Lyme, they are responsible for a small fraction of tick-borne disease, with spring-summer nymphs posing more of a human health threat.
Past research by Ostfeld and colleagues has highlighted the role that intact forest habitat and animal diversity play in buffering Lyme disease risks.
He is currently working with health departments in impacted areas to educate citizens and physicians about the impending surge in Lyme disease.


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Dewey
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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby Dewey » Mon Jun 18, 2012 12:36 am

Not good! :shock:

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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby eastwoodhunter » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:31 pm

That is crazy, i hate ticks!
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goldtip5575
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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby goldtip5575 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:09 pm

I guess we should treat acorns like the DNR treats CWD then and cut down every oak tree. :lol: .Or kill all white footed mice.
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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby Milk Weed Seed » Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:55 pm

Interesting.... Not good news for sure. My mother has had teribble luck with ticks and has even been the first person recorded to have certain symptoms from lyme's disese. Thanks for the post, I have to remind her to be extra careful on her evening hikes with her Blue Weimeraner after work.

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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:17 pm

Ed, make it stop. I hate ticks.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby eastwoodhunter » Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:15 pm

I Hate Ticks!! :twisted:
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Re: Interesting fact on Lyme disease... Acorns!

Unread postby Swampthing » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:37 am

Interesting info thanks.

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