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Lyme disease is set to explode and we still don?t have a vaccine

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  • Lyme disease is set to explode and we still don?t have a vaccine

    Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article...tect-yourself/



    29 March 2017
    Lyme disease is set to explode and we still don?t have a vaccine
    A new prediction says 2017 and 2018 will see major Lyme disease outbreaks in new areas. This could lead to lifelong health consequences, so where's the vaccine?
    Lyme

    Mike Peres/Custom Medical Stock Photo/SPL
    By Chelsea Whyte

    BY THE time he had finished his walk through the woods in New York state, Rick Ostfeld was ready to declare a public health emergency. He could read the warning signs in the acorns that littered the forest floor ? seeds of a chain of events that will culminate in an unprecedented outbreak of Lyme disease this year.

    Since that day in 2015, Ostfeld has been publicising the coming outbreak. Thanks to a changing climate it could be one of the worst on record: the ticks that carry the disease have been found in places where it has never before been a problem ? and where most people don?t know how to respond. The danger zone isn?t confined to the US: similar signs are flagging potential outbreaks in Europe. Polish researchers predict a major outbreak there in 2018.

    In theory, Ostfeld?s early warning system gives public health officials a two-year window to prepare. In many other cases, this would be enough time to roll out a vaccination programme. But there is no human vaccine for Lyme disease. Why not? And what can you do to protect yourself in the meantime?...
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