Ticks are out and biting, so it’s time for our yearly update on ticks, Lyme Disease, and other tick-borne illnesses, with tick and Lyme specialist, Dr. Beatrice Szantyr. If you go outside at all, tick and Lyme awareness and prevention is a must! Click here to listen to this episode of Healthy Options, hosted by Rhonda Feiman.

Key Discussion Points:

1. What is a tickborne illness?
2. What tickborne infections are viruses and which are bacterial, and how can they be treated?
3. What is the prevalence of Lyme disease, and other infections in Maine?
5. What percentage of people get a rash with Lyme infections and what does that rash look like?
6. Besides deer ticks, what other kinds of ticks are here now in Maine? What kind of diseases/infections can we get from them?
7. What is anaplasmosis and Powassan virus and why are we so concerned about these infections?
8. What can we do to protect ourselves from tick bites?
9. What do I do if I’ve been bitten? Where can I send the tick to analyze what it may carry, and will this help in my possible treatment?

Dr. Beatrice Szantyr, an Internist and Pediatrician who lectures on Lyme disease and related tick-borne disorders in Maine and nationally, to both professional and community groups. She is an active member of the Maine CDC Vector Borne Disease Work Group, and a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. Dr. Szantyr most recently served on the 2022 Federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, the Access to Care and Education Subcommittee.