Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
WEYMOUTH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — This brutal tick season has walkers and hikers on high alert – including those at Weymouth’s Great Esker Park.
Still, these warnings have not stopped regulars from trekking through park paths.
“You just check for it – that’s all,” said one man moving along Great Esker.
Weymouth is just one town urging residents to “always check for ticks” after heading back from a walk, but even those who take the proper precautions are not immune to getting bitten.
Tickborne illnesses are a rising concern for state residents after a newborn baby from Martha’s Vineyard contracted the rare Powassan virus, CBS News Boston reported.
Lily Sisco was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital after her mother, Tiffany Sisco, said she had a tick "the size of a needle tip" following a short walk on the West Tisbury bike path.
Three cases of Powassan have been reported in Massachusetts so far this year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is no treatment for Powassan, and about 10% of people with a severe case of the disease will die.
Hospital visits from tick bites in the Northeast have reached an all time high in at least five years, according to CDC data. Just two months ago, about 229 tick bites were recorded per every 100,000 emergency room visits.
Massachusetts lists resources to help people identify tick bites and get them tested for tick-borne disease.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.