West Virginia’s Lyme Disease Crisis Grows: Ohio County Cases Skyrocket

West Virginia’s Lyme disease crisis grows: Ohio County cases skyrocket

OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) -- Ohio County is seeing a dramatic rise in Lyme disease cases, reflecting a broader regional and national trend, according to the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department (WOCHD). Local health officials are urging residents to take preventive steps as tick-borne illnesses continue to spread. The CDC estimates that nearly 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, and recent data shows the disease is now…

Lyme disease is changing in a warming world — and so should the news

When biologist Nick Ogden moved to Quebec in 2002, there were two known populations of the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) — the most important Lyme disease spreader — in Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie.  Ogden ran computer models to predict other places in Canada that the tick could be setting up shop. He began to monitor these locations for new tick populations, including a park near his home that he visits every weekend. He foun…