Here's How Many Ticks Carry Lyme Disease In Central New York

The New York State Department of Health just released information from a major study on Deer Ticks and the number of them that carry the disease.

The study shows the risk of Lyme Disease for humans in areas of NY separated by county.

Researchers collected data from several points in each county and used the number of ticks found in each area combined with the percentage of ticks infected to figure out the risk for humans in those areas.

Adult ticks are more likely to carry Lyme, but nymphs, which are harder to see, are more likely to pass the disease to humans.

In Oneida County 52% of adult ticks were found to be infected, and about 77.5 ticks were found per 1,000 foot area surveyed. 12.5% of nymphs were infected with only 8 per 1,00 foot area.

In Herkimer County 55.1% of adult ticks were found to be infected with about 16 ticks found per 1,000 foot area. 24% of nymphs were infected with about 4.2 nymphs per 1,00 foot area.

The density(how many ticks per 1,000 foot area) is calculated by researchers dragging a 1 meter square cloth 1,000 feet through brush and heavily wooded areas.

You can find information on the rest of New York's counties in the report at Healthdata.NY.gov.

Statewide, 51% of adult ticks and 27% of tick nymphs carry the Lyme bacteria.