Warm Winter Could Result in More Cases of Lyme Disease

April 17, 2012 - PRLog -- This past winter was one of the warmest on record for many parts of the United States.  Although many people enjoyed a warmer winter season, it also could have a major downside.  Many experts believe that the country may see an unusually high number of cases of Lyme disease due to the warm weather.

This month, ABC News published a story on the situation and stated, “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2010, about 22,000 cases of Lyme disease and 8,000 more probable cases were reported nationwide.”  The article went on to explain how warm weather already has ticks that carry Lyme disease active in parts of the country impacted by the unseasonably warm weather.

Borrelia burgdorferi is a species of Gram-negative bacteria.  It is also the cause of Lyme disease which is a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted by ticks.  The Lyme disease bacterium is spread through the bite of infected ticks. The blacklegged tick spreads the disease in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north-central United States, and the western blacklegged tick spreads the disease on the Pacific Coast.

“Not all types of ticks carry the bacteria that cause so much illness each year in the U.S.,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical, Inc., a leading environmental infectious disease and indoor air quality (IAQ) testing laboratory.  “EMSL has developed techniques to analyze ticks to determine if they carry Borrelia burgdorferi utilizing advanced DNA testing methods.  This information can be invaluable to people who have been bitten or for researchers trying to determine the extent of the bacteria’s infestation of local tick populations,” he continued.

EMSL recently sponsored an online video about Lyme disease and Borrelia burgdorferi that can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsaxF-l8mBY



To learn more about testing for microbial pathogens or other environmental issues, please visit www.EMSL.com, call (800) 220-3675 or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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EMSL Analytical Inc. is a nationally recognized accredited testing laboratory and locally focused provider of consumer product, environmental, microbiology, industrial hygiene, food and materials testing services to professionals and the general public.