With tick-borne diseases a growing matter of public health concern on the Vineyard, education and prevention are more important than ever, a leading expert said.
A four-year-old boy from Newton is this year's first confirmed case of tularemia on the Vineyard, but state and Island health officials stopped far short of sounding an alarm this week over a new outbreak of the rare bacterial infection.
Tissue samples taken last September from a Chilmark skunk and a Katama rat tested positive for tularemia, the rare disease that infected 15 people on the Island last year, killing one man who did not seek medical attention in time.
State health advisories warning people to wear dust masks when mowing the lawn or cutting brush may have put a dent in this summer's total for cases of tularemia, the rare disease that has an unexplained foothold on the Vineyard.