Every spring on the Martha’s Vineyard, Islanders seem to say: “It’s the worst tick season there’s ever been.” But are the ticks actually worse this year? Patrick Roden-Reynolds, of the MV Tick Program, couldn’t definitively say if there are truly more ticks in 2023 compared to other years, but he has seen a dramatic increase […]
Four Island healthcare institutions and the Fledgling Fund are collaborating to present a conference on the current state of tick-borne diseases on Martha’s Vineyard. The conference will be held on Saturday, June 10, from 8:30 am until noon at the Katharine Cornell Theater in Vineyard Haven. It’s free and open to the public. The full […]
A new coyote group is forming to track local coyote activity and behavior on Martha’s Vineyard and to inform residents and visitors about the presence of the animals, as people hike and enter potential coyote habitats this summer. The organization is so far unnamed, but according to Tisbury Animal Control Officer and a founding member, […]
Cases of babesiosis, a rare tick-borne disease, are on the rise throughout the Northeast, according to a recent study and report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pronounced ‘ba-bee-zee-oh-ses,” the infection is spread by bites from deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks. The ticks can transmit microscopic parasite babesia microti, which can […]
A Lyme disease vaccine trial developed by Pfizer was halted for half of its participants, including those on Martha’s Vineyard, due to potential violations of good clinical practice (GCP).