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Cancer Answers is hosted by Dr. Anees Chagpar, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medical Oncology. The show features a guest cancer specialist who will share the most recent advances in cancer therapy and respond to listeners questions. Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with a different focus eachweek. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the disease and respond to questions from the community.Listeners can submit questions to be answered on the program at canceranswers@yale.edu or by leaving a message at (888) 234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs from 2006 through the present are available in both audio and written versions on the Yale Cancer Center website.

Tick Population Surges In Connecticut

James L. Occi
/
Armed Forces Pest Management Board
The blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, can spread Lyme disease.

Incidents of tick-borne diseases are on the rise throughout Connecticut and other parts of the country, especially in the Northeast. Researchers are also reporting an increase in the overall number of ticks.

Health officials claim this is the worst year ever.

Scientists at the Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven have seen over 5,000 ticks come in for testing over the last six months.

They normally see an average of 3,000 over the course of a year, according to Dr. Theodore Andreadis, director of the facility. But it’s not just Lyme disease they’re concerned about. They’re are seeing more cases of other tick-borne illnesses including the Powassan virus.

“There have been multiple human cases that have been reported in neighboring New York in the Hudson River Valley, in Massachusetts, and we had our first human case in Connecticut just this past year,” Andreadis said. “The concerns with this particular virus are: there’s no treatment; it can be transmitted by ticks in a matter of minutes of feeding; and in some cases, it can cause encephalitis, and can be fatal. There’s no cure.”

While only 2 to 3 percent of the ticks have tested positive for Powassan, Andreadis said the virus is emerging, adding that more funding is necessary to address the issue of tick control.

Credit jjbers / Creative Commons
/
Creative Commons

Officials said residents need to take precautions if they spend time outdoors, especially in wooded areas. They advise using repellents, wearing long sleeves and pants, and conducting tick checks.

Andreadis spoke to reporters in New Haven along with a research advocate and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who announced an effort, on the federal level, to assemble a Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. 

Lori Connecticut Public's Morning Edition host.

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