http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/04/09/untreatable-tick-borne-virus-found-in-conn/?intcmp=latestnews
Untreatable tick-borne virus found in Conn., expert says Published April 09, 2015 • An untreatable, and sometimes fatal tick-borne disease is turning up in parts of southern Connecticut, according to one expert.
Dr. Theodore Andreadis, head of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, told WCBS 880 that the Powassan virus has symptoms similar to those of Lyme disease, including headache, nausea and fever.
Once contracted, there is no treatment for the virus, and the disease can often be fatal, Andreadis said. While there have been no reported human cases in the areas, Andreadis said that people who venture into wooded areas may encounter deer carrying ticks.
“These ticks will transmit this virus when they feed within a matter of hours, whereas with Lyme disease, for example, ticks generally have to feed up to two days before they’re capable of transmitting it,” Andreadis told WCBS 880.
The virus can often be symptomless before often infecting the nervous system and causing encephalitis and meningitis. Survivors can develop neurological symptoms such as muscle wasting and memory problems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hmmmmm, can't find anything from the CDC about killing all the deer as a way to reduce your risk of Powassan virus.
"How can I reduce the chance of getting infected with Powassan virus? The best way to prevent POW virus disease is by protecting yourself from tick bites. There is no vaccine against POW virus.
•Avoid contact with ticks by avoiding wooded and bushy areas with high grass. •Apply insect repellents to bare skin, according to label instructions. ?Repellents containing DEET can be applied to exposed skin, but only last a few hours. ?Clothing and gear can be treated with permethrin, which remains protective through several washings. •Find and remove ticks immediately before they have a chance to bite and attach. ?Bathe or shower (preferably within 2 hours after being outdoors) to wash off and find ticks on your body. ?Conduct a full-body tick check. Parents should thoroughly check children, especially in their hair. ?Also examine clothing, gear and pets."
and how many deer did you have to kill to make sure you didn't contract lyme disease from having all those ticks on you??? Must be a pile of dead deer where you hiked, right!
If you hit your finger with a hammer while banging in a nail, then we should outlaw nails. Right? Where's the doc when you need an answer?
23 for me , 1 on my nephew .. I must've cleared the path..usually I keep spray in the truck just too lazy to look if it was there I guess. lesson learned .we did find deer stuff :
1 fresh yote deer kill , 1 deer skeleton , 3 deer skulls and 1 coon skull ..3 tree stands ,2 ladder stands... in 6 hrs of hiking we found 4 piles of fresh deer poop . lots and lots of yote tracks ......we did do a 200yrd sneak on a bedded doe behind a tree . im trying to teach knucklehead how to creep around instead of sounding like a herd of rhinos...turned out it was a log..lol as far as your hammer/nail analogy , caulk and tape makes a man what he aint..lol
holy crop, sounds like an animal graveyard out there. Were you on state or private land? 6 hrs = big area to me.
My first time hunting I had my scope trained on a deer that was bedded down from dawn till about 9am. Once the sun came up high enough I discovered it was a stump with 2 fern palms growing from the top that made it look like ears.
I now know the difference between ferns and ears. You don't have to clean ferns.
BTW - your ability count ticks makes you a prime candidate for counting deer, all you need is a plane :)
Last scouting outing I pulled a "few" off of me after I got home, funny how many ticks there are where there are so few deer. Had one embedded in my leg the other morning, didn't even have to leave the yard to get it, still have a good welt from it. I got bit by over a dozen last year, none while hunting of course, I wear bug skinz when I can't be concerned about checking for them constantly.
CTCrow's Link
An oz of prevention is better than a pound of.... I forgot what.
a good note, they would need to be VERY close before they would be afraid :)
