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Conor Gladstone • 10 years ago

Rather arrogant title to this article "…Canada moves out of denial". So far there is no proof that the US has moved out of the denial foisted upon its citizens by the insurance companies. Doctors are still being stripped of their licenses if they overstepped the artificial boundary of "one course of treatment w/Doxy" is all that's needed". Citizens and the afflicted here have moved out of denial perhaps, but the US is far, far away from treating this plague seriously and with efficacy .

texasaggie • 10 years ago

Balderdash! Why the whole republican side of the House and the Senate have assured us that global warming is the "biggest hoax in history." If you don't believe me, just ask the good Senator Inhofe. And if you don't believe him, ask the good people at the Heartland Institute. They wouldn't lie, would they?

harriet • 10 years ago

I simply wish to mention that my 4 year old dog died within 5 days of diagnosis of lyme-induced kidney disease from glomerulonephritis. We live in Westchester county, a suburb near NYC in which there are lovely wooded areas where everyone has enjoyed walking their dogs and meeting neighbors. I am a physician, and never had heard of a dog dying of Lyme disease, but though it is rare, it occurs and with increasing exposure to Lyme will likely become more common.
We have spent 9 months deeply mourning his death; we have a new dog and wonder how and where we are going to feel 'safe' walking him.

GuntherGableWilliams • 10 years ago

What's truly amazing is that these ticks are able to read and understand the settled science projections of a shift in the climate which so far has only been predicted by computer models.

And then to be clever enough to hook a ride on a north bound song bird and establish a new territory to boot.

Really just amazing.

texasaggie • 10 years ago

Surely you have the mental capacity to know that deer move wherever there are woodlands carrying their ticks with them. And undoubtedly you are bright enough to figure that if conditions are adequate, the ticks will survive and reproduce when they drop off. So it doesn't take much in the way of intelligence to figure out that if conditions change so that what was once too cold now begins to warm up, then ticks will populate a new area where once they froze.

You can follow that, can't you?

stcroixcarp • 10 years ago

Deer tick is a bit of a misnomer. Many mammals carry the ticks with them, woodchucks, skunks, raccoons, mice etc. Having had a very nasty bout of Lyme disease, I would gladly support research on how to prevent it, how to destroy the ticks and how to treat. I am fortunate to have access to a medical community that is well versed in the latest research and that takes treatment seriously.

GuntherGableWilliams • 10 years ago

Since no appreciable warming has yet to occur, conditions have not yet changed, and is only being projected in flawed computer models why are the ticks and disease "surging North" and threatening Canada?

Legender • 10 years ago

GGW was being sarcastic.

Jethro_T • 10 years ago

One wouldn't know from reading this article, but it's frequently the case that a person bitten by a Lyme-carrying tick can contract other diseases simultaneously, such as the protozoan parasite Babesia; while Lyme can be treated effectively with antibiotics, Babesiosis requires an antimalarial. The course of therapy may be considerably longer than the usual 2-3 weeks.

Unfortunately, the arrogance of the medical profession generally, as well as the for-profit system in the US specifically, have conspired to immiserate hundreds of thousands of people unnecessarily.

texasaggie • 10 years ago

Babesiosis is one of the many other afflictions that can be carried by Ixodes. There was an article the other day on a whole new panorama of human diseases that have been discovered that are being carried by ticks, although not all of them are carried by Ixodes.