MADISON, WI (WSAU-WAOW) -Health professionals and the Environmental Protection Agency warn that Wisconsin may owe the spread of tick borne illnesses to climate change.
“The climate change that we’re seeing definitely has been the reason for this explosion in ticks, as well as the increase in human diseases,” Doctor Gregory DeMuri, a pediatric infectious disease physician, said.
DeMuri underscored the importance of taking measures to protect oneself from ticks in the wild by applying insect repellent. However, he also advised that individual action can only go so far.
“On an individual level, protect yourself against insects,” DeMuri said. “On a global level, we need to do something about climate change.”
Multiple health professionals and government agencies have linked one disease in particular to climate change. The EPA warns that Lyme disease, commonly spread through deer tick bites, has become a marker of climate change as cases have grown in multiple states, including Wisconsin. The condition’s symptoms include, fever, headache, fatigue and rash. In serious cases, the infection spreads to the joints, the heart and nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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