“Despite spread of Lyme disease, Mass. dedicates no money to prevention” | by Beth Daley | April 19, 2015
The predawn rumble of pesticide-spraying trucks is a rite of spring in almost 200 Massachusetts communities. Some $11 million is spent in the state each year controlling and counting the pests and educating residents about how to avoid contracting mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus.
Yet no state funds are dedicated to tick-borne diseases, one of which, Lyme, infects at least 5,500 residents a year in Massachusetts and likely many more. Residents may notice that gap even more this spring: The winter’s deep snow probably insulated ticks from low temperatures and heavy winter mortality, say some entomologists.