Ticks again? Yes. It’s important to measure and contrast media narratives with reality. As you may recall, in April 2026, we had three more reported ER visits for tick bites than in any previous year (per the CDC). The result was a cavalcade of fearmongering headlines about the coming apocalypse. My response was to find the data. 105 in April 2026 compared to 102 in April 2017.
Ooooh!
May ER visits for tick bites fell behind four previous years, and June is only the third-highest for this goofy category, but none of that was worth a headline.
“Tick Bite ER Visits Fall Behind Previous Years.”
Who clicks on that?
Besides, they had a new bugbear. Alpha Gal. I did a Subscriber Saturday Substack deep dive. Nasty business.
More than 110,000 suspected cases of AGS were identified between 2010 and 2022.
As many as 450,000 people could be affected, and if you don’t know, having a cheeseburger or a steak can kill you.
[C]ases of AGS are not nationally notifiable to CDC. The actual number of AGS cases in the United States is not known,
RFKJ also happened to be doing a public health information tour, and addressing tick-borne illness was part of that. Lyme and other diseases have been seriously under-addressed for years despite their chronic seriousness. He was saying his DHS was working on that problem. Making it a priority. Working to reduce Lyme disease by 25%. He said it right here, in New Hampshire.
It grabbed the ears and eyeballs and pointed them at the tick problem again.
The Lone Star Tick took center stage. Alpha Gal is a growing adjacent problem, making it a perfect story to feature. But tick bites are down from previous years, so they’ve moved on again, at least around here.
WGME, in Maine: Maine reports first case of rare tick-borne disease this year.
Ticks again?
Powassan virus. “The Maine CDC says Powassan virus is rare but appears to be spreading.” The Maine CDC pushed all the approved COVID narratives. Masks, Distancing, Safe and Effective. Lockdowns. Credibility is a problem, but it’s worse for reporters. Was before, during, and after the Wuhan flu breakout.
Powassan virus can cause severe disease, including inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). Symptoms of severe disease include confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, and seizures.
According to the CDC, approximately one out of 10 people with severe disease die. Approximately half of the people who survive severe disease have long-term health problems. These can include recurring headaches, loss of muscle mass and strength, or memory problems.
So, it’s a lot like becoming a supporter of Graham Platner except more rare, especially in Maine. Forty-one cases since 2000. It may have been more. We can’t know how many were sold due to COVID, especially if someone died. Ka-ching!
But I haven’t seen a tick in weeks, but we’re always looking. White Lab. Weeds, grass, and woods for a yard. Deer and a host of warm-blooded critters upon which ticks will ride in and out. Not enough wild turkeys are coming through to clear them out. Someone in Maine got Powassan. Lone Star is out there, and so is Lyme. But it’s like crossing the road. It only gets a headline when it doesn’t work out as planned.
No one writes a headline about how hundreds of millions of people safely cross the street every day, sometimes multiple times per day. But if you get hit by a car, and it’s not driven by an illegal alien, you’ll make the news.
As for ticks, they have a special place in the Handmaiden media lexicon of horrors. Climate change. That narrative has been strangely absent from a lot of the reporting this year. Maybe the media, on some level, gets that its credibility is in tatters and there’s only so much hyperbolic “whatever” they can get past the gatekeeper, that being you.
No worries, mate.
It’s also mosquito season. Triple EEE is on the horizon as a seasonal fearmongering tale.
No obvious connection to climate change either, but you only need one case for the media to make it into a thing. It’s a serious disease with a high mortality rate. No cure. No treatment, not really. Just education. About the risk and about how the media will treat it when it happens.
Oh, and speaking of mosquitoes.
CHARLOTTE, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – According to the Vermont Department of Health, Jamestown Canyon Virus has been detected in Northwestern Vermont for the first time.
Also bad, but there’s no surveillance data on that.
We’ll help when we can, with the media. Keeping the facts straight and them as honest as we can.
