Tick-Borne Illnesses On The Rise In McHenry County
(CBS) -- Tick-borne illnesses have been on the rise in McHenry County for the past few years - and officials there are asking people to at least do one simple thing: take a shower.
Tick-Born Illnesses On The Rise In McHenry County
Every year since at least 2010, McHenry County has seen more and more illnesses related to tick bites, including Lyme Disease.
"There is certainly an increase. We're hoping in 2013 that we're going to have less than what we had last year."
Debra Quackenbush is spokeswoman for the McHenry County Department of Health.
She says if you go outside and work in the yard, come in and put your clothes in a laundry bag and run it through the drier because heat kills ticks.
"But also take a shower and that's such an easy thing to do, especially on warm and humid days like we've had."
Quackenbush says showers are important because a tick has to be attached to your skin for at least 24 hours for its Lyme Disease bacteria to be transferred to you.
