Lyme disease is known to pester a number of states in the U.S. as of now. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health related agencies are trying their best to warn American citizens in order to reduce victims.
According to CBC, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Lyme disease is a condition which affects roughly 300,000 Americans annually. However, some cases were not recorded and the agency believes that the affected rates could go higher. It was then informed that aside from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, New York is among the states recorded with the highest confirmed cases.
With that said, it was mentioned by Dr. Curtis Russell, a biologist with Public Health Ontario that the Lyme disease comes from black-legged ticks. The tick that transmits the disease in Ontario was mentioned to grow in numbers as well. Russel then warned that the tiny arachnids could be found in humid, brushy areas. Symptoms were then described to occur to three and 30 days after a bite. In which would be fever, chills, fatigue, aches, rashes and nervous system complications.
Furthermore, it was also enumerated that the simple ways to protect oneself from the Lyme disease are to stay on a dry path which you should avoid long grass and bushes. The second was noted to be to wear light colored clothes to easily spot ticks and use repellants that contain DEET. The last countermeasures were to check the body parts and to take a bath.
Hence, the Senate’s Task Force on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases was reported by The LCN to submit a bill package regarding the disease. The first bill was said to be that the State Health Care Quality and Cost Containment Commission should submit a report annually regarding the impact of providing insurance coverage for Lyme and tick-borne disease.
“Because New York State has the third-highest number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the nation, we must do everything we can to ensure that our citizens have the information and resources they need to protect themselves from this critical public health issue,” Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome explained.
More so, the second bill was identified to be that medical professionals would be properly trained to treat patients with Lyme or other tick-borne diseases. The last was that the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation would make guidelines on how to reduce exposure to ticks. However, only the first and second was stated to pass the Senate but didn’t have a vote in the Assembly.
