Poughkeepsie Journal
Are tick-borne diseases the new AIDS epidemic? Government latency has allowed these diseases to spread throughout the country, potentially sparking the next pandemic. And shame on our state legislators who pale in the wake of our Connecticut neighbors in addressing the problem first and foremost, while the Hudson Valley may become the No. 1 source of infections. If there were less politicization, we may have stopped this from becoming a bigger problem.
Ticks and other arthropods can transmit bartonella, tularemia, tick paralysis, Rocky Mountain Fever, Powassan Encephalitis, Q-Fever, Tick Relapsing Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease. The list is probably longer and includes mutations. I'd like to see a show of hands: How many tick bite victims were tested for other infections?
When the tests are not 100 percent accurate, it's time for the Centers for Disease Control to do its job, and take leadership of this growing problem before more acute victims become chronic. Most local doctors are still clueless on diagnosis and treatment. So many I know are being misdiagnosed with MS, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, heart attack, depression and sleep disorders.
It's time to fight back, especially in the mid-Hudson Valley. Call your elected representatives and encourage action, because if you are lucky enough not to know someone that has had a tick born disease, you won't be soon.
Steve Ascenzo, Poughkeepsie