Tick-borne diseases

Most ticks emerge in April and May. Learn how to protect yourself from tick bites and what to do if you get bit by a tick.

A county-wide tick bite prevention education campaign kicks off today at libraries across Suffolk,

East End Tick & Mosquito Control and Tick Wise Education will host a tick borne disease symposium Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Long Island Aquarium Sea Star Ballroom.

Long Island is now considered "ground zero" for Lyme disease and once-exotic viruses and other infections are gaining a growing foothold. How goes our struggle against these vectors and the costly and deadly illness they bring with their bites? In two understated words: not well.

A second Lyme vaccine is in clinical trials under an expedited review by the FDA. An earlier vaccine, approved in 1998, was pulled from the market after a class-action lawsuit a year later claiming the vaccine caused arthritis.

Find out all the information you need to know about preventing tick bites and treating the diseases ticks can spread.

Southampton Hospital's Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center has arranged a series of programs covering education about and prevention of tick-borne diseases, the Alpha-gal meat allergy and a program aimed at teaching children about tick safety to be held at the Riverhead Public Library.

More cases of tick-borne diseases have been reported on the East End than almost anywhere else in Suffolk County in recent years.