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Article: The Ugly World of Ticks.
- Article from:
- The World and I
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Feasting on one or more hosts, these tiny, bloodsucking parasites transmit a larger variety of diseases than any other group of animals.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever; Lyme disease; babesiosis; tularemia; relapsing fever--what is the common denominator for these illnesses? All of them are transmitted by ticks.
Of the roughly 850 species of ticks, less than 100 are known to transmit diseases. Yet this small number of species includes some of the most annoying and dangerous of all the world's creatures. While mosquito-borne sicknesses are more widespread and claim more human lives, ticks spread a greater variety of diseases than any other animal group. ...