Descriptive and Analytic Epidemiology

One of the more common pests located in the Northeastern United States is the Black Legged Tick (Ixodes scapularis). More commonly known as the “Deer Tick” this animal primarily inhabits wooded areas populated by warm-blooded wildlife. Specifically the temperate Pine Barrens in Southern New Jersey, which hosts the 2nd largest tick population in the country (CDC, 2010), the black legged tick is a common pest that spreads lyme disease. This disease is a bacterial infection caused by the tick latching onto a host and feeding for an extended period of time. These ticks attach to most warm blooded woodland creatures and any human beings unfortunate enough to get close enough.

Indiana is considered to be a moderate risk state. Some of the states with a higher risk factor are along the upper east coast, Midwest, and western states. These areas seem to have a larger section of woods where the ticks like to hang out. Children seem to develop the disease more than adults. This is probably from being outside and playing

“Lyme disease got its name from where it was first discovered in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975” (healthychildren.org). “Since then there has been thousands of cases reported of the disease. The ticks live in low and high seasonal temperatures and high humidity” (healthychildren.org). Lyme Disease most common to occur in the Northeast, North-central states, or West Coast. On behalf of the Northeast, I can tell you that ticks are everywhere in this region. They like to live in tall grasses and woody areas. “The small insects more than often latch onto the foot or lower leg and crawl up the body, and travel up the body with a destination of the head. On their normal hosts, ticks also usually crawl up; they want to blood feed around the

Recent research results suggest that ticks must remain attached to a human for 36-48 hours to efficiently transmit B. burgdorferi so early recognition and removal can be effective in preventing Lyme disease (Cook, 2015). Thus, nymphs represent the greatest risk for infection and have been implicated as the vector in the majority of Lyme disease cases in the United States. Although adults can transmit the disease, nymphs, which are about the size of a poppy seed, are relatively undetectable and significantly less likely to be removed within 48 hours of attachment. As a result, most new cases of Lyme disease occur in the summer months between May and August when nymph activity reaches its peak (Marques,

The type of epidemiology used for this topic is descriptive because, as Stanhope (2012) stated, “Epidemiologists investigate the distribution or patterns of health events in populations in order to characterize health outcomes in terms of what, who, where, when, how, and why: What is the outcome? Who is affected? Where are they? When do events occur? This focus is called descriptive epidemiology, because it seeks to describe the occurrence of a disease in terms of person, place, and time” (p. 282). This type of epidemiology is used to determine the extent of diabetes and how the rapidly growing population of Mexican-Americans will impact the economy and the future of healthcare. The person includes the risk factors, education, occupation, ethnicity, diet and exercise. The place is where the population is, the density, economic development along with nutritional, and medical practices. Time is, since the event took place, age, and cycles or trends that might affect the disease process.

Lyme disease has been a problem for those living in and around the New England area for the last few decades. Unfortunately, researchers have just discovered that the deer ticks are expanding their reach, with a surge over 320 percent. The ticks are slowly branching out into the connecting counties and states. It is believed that they are branching out due to climate change.

In the southwest of the United states, coccidioides immitis and C posadasii, fungal pathogens that cause valley fever in humans, have usually been located in hot, dry states like California, Arizona, and Utah, but recently it has also moved to Washington State, which is considered a humid state. This situation shows how climate change is having an effect on this state by making it dryer and allowing these pathogens to habituate and spread here. Furthermore, in Arizona, the annual cases of valley fever increased from 33 to 43/100,000 people between 1998 and 2001 (Benjamin H., 2017). This was due to longer dry seasons caused by climate change, and windier storms that spread fungal spores.

Epidemiology is different from medical fields because it does not focus on one individual it focuses on a group. Epidemiology directly impacts public health. Epidemiology is centered on three factors in a population setting, the Host, the Agent, and the Environment. These three factors are part

In addition to identifying the populations and demographic subsets who are most at risk, the epidemiology will delineate some of the particular cultural characteristics of the population and outline the sociological, economic and health risks that frequently accompany the

Descriptive study would be the most valuable to assist one gather data since descriptive study depicts the populations which are at risk and the level of disease (WNV) together in space and time inside these populations. Descriptive study would authorize to compute the amount of persons infected through WNV during a time period. This might authorize a sequence of propositions to be built as regards determinants of WNV and consequences of WNV on populace. (4. The epidemiological approach to investigating disease problems)

A survey was composed to try to understand whether living around wooded areas could increase susceptibility towards getting Lyme Disease, whether owning outdoor pets was a risk towards getting Lyme Disease, and finally, what type of deer tick preventative measures work best amongst animals. Surveys were collected in two ways: online surveys and telephone surveys. In the end, the results were checked through statistical analysis and proven significant. All the results were posted on the Facebook page.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the world. This disease has been reported in all 50 states, mainly the New England states (Khatchikian, 2015). Lyme disease has also been reported in China, parts of the Soviet Union, Europe, Japan, and Australia. In 1957, a group of children and adults in the Lyme, Connecticut area, and surrounding areas had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (Shiel, William C). Dr. Allen Steere began researching to solve this problem. Steere identified the Lyme disease was transferred by ticks (BayAreaLyme.com).

Ticks, they are most significant vectors of infectious diseases in the United States. These arachnids can host a scary medley of infectious bacterium, and they are increasing at an alarming rate with one CDC graph showing their numbers have almost tripled since 1995 (Lyme Stats). Some point to greater awareness, other point to climate change, while we don’t know exactly why their reach is growing we do know we have to be wary of the diseases they carry. While not all ticks are hosts, ticks carrying the Borrelia bacteria known for causing Lyme disease present a massive public health risk. Lyme is one most under researched Infectious diseases with the CDC estimating that somewhere between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people are infected annual.

There are certain risk factors which can increase one 's chance of contracting Lyme disease. For example: where a person lives can heighten one 's likelihood of getting this illness. Wherever deer or white-footed mice are high in population, ticks are likely to be as well, since these animals are their main food source. Ticks also thrive in heavily wooded and grassy areas, so, if a person lives or works in such a place, they

Observational epidemiology is a study of disease where “the investigator ascertains exposure and outcome without assignment to an intervention” Observational studies have made important contributions to the knowledge and understanding of health-related conditions. These studies usually involve a large group of individuals as in a community. The purpose of this type of study is to determine the