Hot summer here. Here is what you need to know and how to stay safe

Summer in the United States is now in a swing. This means a lot of fun in the open air, the sun, and unfortunately, for many of us, many of us avoid us.

Ticks and many diseases you carry, such as Lyme disease, are a threat to increased public health. Only this week, for example, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Show The year 2025 has witnessed so far the largest number of relevant emergency room visits registered since 2019. Although the worst types of tick are especially common in the northeast, the residents who hold diseases A more prevalent feeling Throughout the United States, what is more, scientists are still continuing to discover Viruses and new bacteria It spreads through the tick that can get sick.

With the Americans firmly in the middle of the hot summer, Gizmodo communicates with Dennis Beente, professor of microbiology and immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch. We have talked to Bente about the reason that ticks become a greater problem, the best way to protect ourselves against them, and potential innovations that can eventually help us overcome the threat of ticks. The next conversation was lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

Ed Kara, Gizmodo: I live in the northeast of the United States, my friends and my family, especially dog owners, often complain of the need to search for ticks sooner than they are used to. Is the tick season increasing and greater? What seems that the main reasons why?

Girl: Yes, your friends and family are completely right in their notes. The tick season in the northeastern United States has become longer and more intense, as multiple scientific studies confirm the expansion of tick activity and the growth of ticks.

What was previously a relatively predictable seasonal threat has evolved into anxiety throughout the year in many areas. Evidence indicates that ticks are now active in the winter due to climate change, as deer ticks are active at temperatures of up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 ° C). This has led to a need throughout the year to vigilance, as the ticks now appear whenever the land is heterogeneous and exceeds freezing temperatures, and its season extends until after the traditional months. It speeds up the climate temperature, increases survival, and enables expansion north in about 28 miles (45 km) annually, especially in the northeast. It also strengthened factors such as deer population recovery, re -embarrassment, landscape fragmentation, and fire suppression ticks by providing ideal habitats and local systems that prefer to survive.

Gizmodo: When it comes to germs, people may be more familiar with Lyme disease. But there is a lot there. What are some of the least well -known diseases that keep you at night? Are these diseases, like Lyme, become more common?

Girl: While Lyme’s disease dominates public awareness of the diseases transmitted by ticks, it only represents the top of a much larger iceberg.

Powassan (PowV) is highlighted as the most frightening pathogens in North America. This virus can cause severe encephalitis with death rates approaching 18.8 % and devastating nervous results in 72.7 % of the survivors. Unlike other tick diseases, POVV can be transmitted in just 15 minutes of tick attachment, giving victims almost any chance to remove preventive ticks.

There are also other less well -known viruses. The Heartland virus has appeared in 2009 and since it has been documented in more than 60 cases in 14 states, with the average mortality from 5 to 10 %. BRBV was first identified in 2014 and is still badly incomprehensible. Only 5 human cases have been reported in Kansas, Aklahoma and Missouri, but blood tests indicate that they are more prevalent.

Borrelia Miamotoy It causes difficult relapse fever, a disease that is often discovered although it is transmitted from the same ticks carrying Lyme disease. Between 2013 and 2019, 300 cases were identified by monitoring in nine states only active monitoring. This is probably a significant decrease in reporting, as the disease is often diagnosed.

There too ehrichia The Rikitsai Dotty Fever, which represents an increasing and increasingly complex threat. While Rocky Mountain was allocated (Rikitsa RikitsiIt is still the most intense, and the rectal causes Emerging It can cause severe disease.

In general, the diseases transmitted by the tick have become more common. Anagement is overwhelming: Cases of ticks in the United States increased by 25 % from 40,795 (2011) to 50,856 (2019).

GizmodoAre there any treatments, vaccines, or other innovations in development that can help us overcome these germs?

Girl: Yes, there are already promising treatments, vaccines, and innovative techniques in development that can finally help us win the top hand against tick diseases.

Here is what is on the horizon: The most important immediate penetration is Vla15The first Lyme disease vaccine that reaches advanced clinical trials in more than two decades. It was jointly developed by Pfizer and Valneva, and this represents great progress on previous failed attempts. The vaccine has completed the Valor experience in the third stage with 9437 participants registered throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. The results are expected by the end of 2025, with possible organizational approval in 2026.

Perhaps more exciting than the disease vaccines are anti -science vaccines that can prevent multiple diseases transmitted by ticks simultaneously by targeting the tick itself. The researchers have developed flexible nanoparticles vaccines that contain cocktails of tick proteins. The most advanced formula is Rest 19. This vaccine leads to a rapid erythema development in the skin, the separation of early ticks, and a decrease in tick by creating an immune response alerting the hosts to the presence and continuing the transmission of pathogens when the tick is removed immediately.

Tp-05 It is oral formulation, a Lotilaner system developed by Tarsus Pharmaceuticals; It represents a revolutionary approach to preventing transmitted diseases. This ISOXAZOLINE compound successfully completed the second stage of human experiences, indicating 97 % ticks within 24 hours of attachment, with one dose that provides protection for at least 30 days. Since the tick usually requires 36 to 48 hours of attachment to the transmission of Lyme disease, killing it within 24 hours provides very effective prevention with an excellent safety profile for healthy volunteers.

Gizmodo: Meanwhile, how can we prevent these small lesions from destroying our time in the open air?

Girl: In order to protect reliable ticks, the centers of diseases control and prevention recommend a recovered repellent from the Environmental Protection Agency that contains Deet, Picaridin, IR3535 or Eucalyptus Lemon Oil (OLE). The research constantly shows that Deet concentrations from 20 to 30 % provide the most effective protection, with effective rates from 85 to 89 % against ticks.

Permethrin, easily available in stores, stands out as the strongest weapon in the anti -race arsenal. Unlike the repellents who simply deter the tick, Permithrin already kills ticks when connected. When applied to clothes, it can provide protection for up to six weeks or six wash. The effectiveness is great: the clothes that Bermethrin treated showed nearly 100 % protection against the tick facility.

Your clothing choices can be your first defense line. Wear light -colored clothes to make ticks easier to locate. Long -sleeved shirts, long pants, closed shoes, material barriers, and your shirt entered pants and pants in socks create additional protection by getting rid of entry points.

Stay on the corridors and avoid wooded areas and brush during the peak season (from April to September). Daily tick checks are the most important prevention measure. Most tick -based diseases require 24 to 48 hours of attachment to transmission, so rapid removal significantly reduces the risk of infection. Check your entire body with mirrors, focusing on warm areas: thigh, armpits, scalp, behind the ears and knees, and a waist belt. Check the children and pets daily, even after the time of the yard, and shower within two hours to wash the tick crawling.

For proper removal, use good tweezers to understand the tick near the skin. Pull up with a fixed pressure – not twist or tremor. Do not press, crush or burn ticks. Clean the bite and hands with alcohol or soap. Be sure to photograph the identification mark if the symptoms develop and avoid folk remedies such as matches or nail polish – this increases the risk of disease transmission.