In just over half a year, the Vineyard Center for Clinical Research has completed its first trial and has begun working on three others that are aimed at improving the diagnosis of Lyme disease. The center operates out of the Vineyard Medical Care building in Vineyard Haven.
Funding will end this year for the Tick-Borne Illness Reduction Initiative, an Islandwide program that began about four years ago with a grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. But Island health agents plan to continue the efforts, which include school programs and a series of educational videos.
By all accounts this has not been an unusually bad year for tick-borne illnesses on the Island. The dry cool summer may have helped — not just in keeping the tick population down, but in keeping hikers and gardeners more fully covered when venturing outdoors.
Anecdotal reports suggest it was an average or slightly above-average season for tick-borne illnesses on the Vineyard. By far the most prevalent illness is Lyme disease. A new venture intends to focus on clinical research into tick-borne illnesses.
Tick season reaches its peak in the month of August, and a group of researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Environmental Protection Agency took advantage of the warm weather to work on their latest effort in the quest to understand tick-borne diseases.
Ticks beware. Bite Back for a Cure, the national campaign to fight against the impact of tick-borne disease, is coming to the Vineyard for a fundraising event on August 18.
The day begins with a five-mile bike ride starting from the Lyme Center of Martha’s Vineyard to the Chilmark town hall. Check-in for the ride is at 9:30 a.m. and the bicycling begins at 11 a.m.
Katina I. Makris will speak at the Chilmark Community Church beginning at 1 p.m. Ms. Makris is the author of Out of the Woods.
Even if he wasn’t thinking specifically about tularemia, Hans Zinsser knew well the danger that surrounds us. He cynically observed that “however secure and well-regulated civilized life may become, bacteria, Protozoa, viruses, infected fleas, lice, ticks, mosquitoes and bedbugs will always lurk in the shadows ready to pounce when neglect, poverty, famine or war lets down the defenses.”
As summer heats up and tick season reaches its peak months on the Island, the Martha’s Vineyard Tick-Borne Initiative has launched its latest public health effort, reaching out to Vineyard schools via video.
Last week more than 1,500 DVDs, each containing a short tick safety and awareness video, were delivered to Island schools, with each elementary-age child receiving a copy to take home.
