 | On Monday, August 15th, BP Oddo hosted a Lyme Disease Awareness Forum, which was co-hosted with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The goal of the forum was to raise public awareness on the dangers of Lyme Disease in response to the increasing numbers of black-legged ticks and white-tailed deer on the Island. Experts in Lyme Disease and tick biology presented a wide range of facts that residents should know, from how to safely remove a tick to the latest efforts on improved testing for Lyme. T here were 89 new cases of Lyme Disease reported on Staten Island in 2015, with many more cases unreported to the DOH. In addition, 24 Staten Islanders reported to have “not traveled” outside NYC during the time of infection, providing the first real evidence that the infected tick bite occurred locally. “We should all be aware of how to protect ourselves from ticks. They are here and they are infecting Staten Islanders,” noted BP Oddo. The New York City Urban Park Rangers, New York State Parks, The State DEC and the Staten Island Museum also participated. Over 150 Staten Islanders attended the forum. |
