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By 06/16/2021
Disease-carrying ticks are much more widespread in Marin than scientists once thought. In hotspots like the Bolinas Lagoon, roughly one third of ticks may carry human pathogens.
Ticks are commonly associated with woodlands, and scientists have mainly studied Lyme disease rather than other tick-borne illnesses. But a recent study took a more open-ended approach and found that the arachnids were plentiful in open coastal areas of Marin, and that many carried bacterial diseases other than Lyme.
Dan Salkeld, the study’s lead author, suspected that Marin hikers probably understood the risk before scientists caught up. “I think locals have known this for a while, and I just wasn’t aware of it,” he said.