Uptick In Lyme Disease Cases Has Suffolk County Looking For Answers

Uptick In Lyme Disease Cases Has Suffolk County Looking For Answers

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Suffolk County has an alarming rate of Lyme disease infections. Politicians, health officials and parents have joined forces to try to stop the disease from spreading. Dr. James Tomarken, Suffolk County’s health commissioner, told CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan that residents should be concerned. He said there are five strains of ticks on Long Island — and each can be deadly. And the problem is actually much worse than the statistics indicate, Tomarken said. “The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) gets 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported to them annually,” Tomarken said. “They are estimating it is really 300,000, so it is 10 times factor.” Read more.