NPR

Lyme Disease Is On The Rise Again. Here's How To Prevent It

The tick-borne illness is spreading north and south — about 300,000 U.S. cases a year. As scientists work on better diagnostic tests and surveillance tools, you can take steps to cut your risk.
Black-legged ticks, also known as the deer ticks, can carry Lyme disease.

Lyme disease was once unheard of in western Pennsylvania, where , now an entomologist at the University of Maryland, spent time as a kid. Thorne knew that if black-legged ticks are infected with bacteria called , they can and, that if untreated, symptoms can range from fever, fatigue and a rash, to serious damage to the joints, heart and nervous system. But she didn't realize that ticks in that part of Pennsylvania had become broadly infected with the bacteria. That is, until

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