Thousands in West Virginia struck É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë by 'mystery' tick-borne ɵ¤ that's ¶ì¤·¤àd by Justin Bieber and Bella Hadid

ÀìÌç²Ès have raised the alarm about the growing ¶¼¤· of tick-borne Lyme ɵ¤, as »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs begin to µÞ¤Ë¾å¤¬¤ë with rising µ¤²¹s.?

In West Virginia, one ·´'s health department has ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd that the ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë is ¸½ºß¡¿°ìÈÌ¤Ë seeing hundreds of »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs of the ¾ò·ï, compared to a handful a few years ago.

The department ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ô Howard ÅÒ»ö told Ãϸµ¤Î news ½Ð¸ýs that ´µ¼Ôs must see a healthcare professional 'if a tick has bit you and it is embedded into your È©.'

Statewide, »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs reached 1,052 last year ¡½ and are ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ëd to »¦Åþ¤¹¤ë to Îà»÷¤Î levels this year. Just a £±£°Ç¯´Ö ago, there were barely 300 »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs a year.

The above map shows where cases of Lyme disease were reported in the US in 2022

The above ÃÏ¿Þ¡¿·×²è¤¹¤ë shows where »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs of Lyme ɵ¤ were Êó¹ð¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿²±Â¬d in the US in 2022

This year, Lyme ɵ¤ »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs have already »¦Åþ¤¹¤ëd to µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ë levels in North Eastern ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ës ´Þ¤àing New York and Massachusetts.

¶ÛµÞ room visits for tick bites ¹¶·â¤¹¤ë¡¤¾×Æͤ¹¤ë 69 per 100,000 ER visits in March, the highest Ψ ever µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ëd for the month and °æ¸Í¡¿ÊÛ¸î»ÎÀÊ above the ÉáÄ̤Ρ¿Ê¿¶Ñ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë of 43 visits at this time for the previous seven years.

Ticks also ¸½¤ì¤ëd earlier than normal this year, with bites Êó¹ð¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿²±Â¬d in New Hampshire and Minnesota as Áá´ü¤Ë as February ¡½ °æ¸Í¡¿ÊÛ¸î»ÎÀÊ ahead of April when the critters ÉáÄÌ¤Ï ¸½¤ì¤ë.

Lyme ɵ¤ is ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ëd by a bacteria that is transmitted when someone is bitten by an ´¶À÷¤µ¤»¤ëd tick that are ήÉÛ¤·¤Æ¤¤¤ë in grassy and wooded areas.

It ºÇ½é ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ës a characteristic bullseye ̵ʬÊÌ¤Ê around the bite ¾ì½ê¡¿°ÌÃÖ, and without ¼£ÎÅ can lead to ¿À·Ð »¼º, heart problems, ÈèÏ«¡¤¡Ê·³¤Î¡Ë»¨Ìò and personality changes.

Doctors can °·¤¦¡¿¼£ÎŤ¹¤ë the ´¶À÷ with ¹³À¸Êª¼Ás, but it can take months to ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ë if the first ·Ù¹ð Ä´°õ¤¹¤ës are ¹ÔÊýÉÔÌÀ¤Ë¤Ê¤ëd.

The ¾ò·ï has attracted attention ͽÄê to the large group of celebrity ¶ì¤·¤ó¤Ç¤¤¤ë¿Ís - ´Þ¤àing??Justin Bieber and Bella Hadid?who were both ¿ÇÃǤ¹¤ëd with Lyme ɵ¤ ¡ ½ likely after spending time in the countryside.

ÀìÌç²Ès say Lyme ɵ¤ is mysterious because antibodies against the bacteria often can't be ¡Ê°­»ö¡¤ÈëÌ©¤Ê¤É¤ò¡Ëȯ¸«¤¹¤ëd for several weeks after ´¶À÷, even as someone ¶ì¤·¤às symptoms.?

It means ´µ¼Ôs often go misdiagnosed and their symptoms remain unexplained.?

Justin Bieber opened up about his battle with Lyme disease
Bella Hadid also did

Both Justin Bieber and Bella Hadid have opened up about their À臘¡¿À襤s with Lyme ɵ¤

´¶À÷s have been rising in the US every year since 2014, with nearly?63,000 »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ëd in 2022 ¡½ as longer summers µö¤¹ ticks to be active for longer.

Mr ÅÒ»ö said the ɵ¤ was becoming 'endemic' in more areas.

¸ø¼°¤Î¡¿Ìò¿Í data from 2022 showed »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs ȯ¼Í up 28 ¥Ñ¡¼¥»¥ó¥È from the previous year.

Á´¹ñŪ¤Ê, the largest ÆÍȯ¡¿È¯À¸s last year were µ­Ï¿¡¤µ­Ï¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µ­Ï¿¤¹¤ëd in Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine ¡½ with up to 212 »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs per 100,000.

Massachusetts is also raising the alarm over other tick-borne ɵ¤s which are rising, ´Þ¤àing the rare Powassan ¥¦¥¤¥ë¥¹.

Around 10 ¥Ñ¡¼¥»¥ó¥È of people who catch the ¥¦¥¤¥ë¥¹ ¤òÈѤ¦ ¸·¤·¤¤ neurological symptoms ´Þ¤àing seizures, speech problems and paralysis.

It was Êó¹ð¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿²±Â¬d this year for the first time in the town of Sharon, Massachusetts, Ͷȯ¤¹¤ëing ´Ø¿´.

ÀìÌç²Ès say ticks tend to be active from March to Ãæ±û¤Î-May and Ãæ±û¤Î-August to November ¡½ but they ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ë that warmer Å·¸õ is Áý²Ã¤¹¤ëing this period.

The critters often hang ¤Î¾å¤Ë the ¿É¾¡¤¹¤ë¡¿Í¥°Ì of grasses on footpaths waiting for someone to come past before latching on.

In some »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs, they may also ¸º¾¯¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë from trees after ¡Ê°­»ö¡¤ÈëÌ©¤Ê¤É¤ò¡Ëȯ¸«¤¹¤ëing heat and activity underneath them.

'They are Íî¤Á¤ëing É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë to see what's happening, they can catch our µÓs really easily because they are hanging on low-lying grasses, »ÙŹs and so on,' said ÅÒ»ö.

ÀìÌç²Ès say the best way to Èò¤±¤ë a tick bite is to cover exposed È© with long-sleeve ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹s, trousers and socks.?

If bitten, ¤·¤Ã¤«¤êÄϤà the tick at its Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë before ½üµî¤¹¤ëing. Leaving the Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë behind could help Èò¤±¤ë an ´¶À÷.?