FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com
Bay Area Lyme Foundation To Provide Tick and Lyme Disease Education in the Solano Resource Conservation District
Program is open to the public and part of extensive education program throughout the Bay Area
Silicon Valley, California, October 26, 2015—The Bay Area Lyme Foundation, which aims to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, will provide training about ticks and Lyme disease to naturalists, outdoor educators, program managers and the general public in the Solano Resource Conservation District, as well as other local agencies, to better educate area students, parents and classroom teachers. The program is part of an educational initiative started at Bay Area Lyme Foundation to inform California residents about prevention, the proper removal of ticks, and symptoms of tick-borne diseases. It is based on new information that Lyme disease is endemic to the area.
“Solano offers the opportunity for a great number of outdoor activities, and local residents who enjoy the outdoors need to know the facts about ticks and Lyme,” said Marianne K. Butler, Education Program Manager, Solano Resource Conservation District. “Simple steps can go a long way to preventing tick-borne diseases and we are excited to learn the latest information from Bay Area Lyme Foundation.”
As recent studies have shown that Lyme and other tick-borne diseases are widespread and in multiple habitats throughout the Bay Area, Bay Area Lyme Foundation offers the following tips to residents:
- Tick-check often, including after an outdoor activity and 3 days later, after ticks have had time to become engorged.
- Know how to remove a tick
- Check pets as they may bring ticks into your home
- Examine gear as ticks may ride into your home on backpacks and other items
- Know the symptoms of Lyme disease and get tested if you experience these symptoms
- Manage your property to create a tick-safe zone
“Knowing about the prevalence of Lyme disease in our area and how to prevent it is important for local students, their parents and anyone who enjoys the outdoors,” stated Linda Giampa, Executive Director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
The in-service program will take place on Tuesday, November 10 and will be attended by local agencies and Solano Resource Conservation District employees. Residents are encouraged to visit www.BayAreaLyme.org for more advice and information about ticks and tick-borne diseases. Organizations who would like to partner with Bay Area Lyme Foundation to offer tick and Lyme disease programming, should contact info@bayarealyme.org.
About Lyme disease
One of the most common infectious diseases in the country, Lyme disease is a potentially debilitating infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets. If caught early, most cases of Lyme disease can be effectively treated, but it is commonly misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness and unreliable diagnostic tests. There are about 329,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, according to statistics released in 2015 by the CDC. As a result of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, as many as one million Americans may be suffering from the impact of its debilitating long-term symptoms and complications, according to Bay Area Lyme Foundation estimates.
About Solano Resource Conservation District
A non-regulatory special district to the State of California, Solano Resource Conservation District (RCD) works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and a wide variety of other partners throughout the County on a watershed scale. RCD collaborates with private citizens, local, regional state and federal government agencies, research institutions, non-profits and private sector organizations to design and implement large and small ecosystem restoration programs, habitat enhancement projects, and watershed-based environmental education for children and adults. These efforts include educating County residents about conservation planning and watershed coordination services to help people manage their natural resources as individuals and in groups. For more information, visit http://solanorcd.org/.
About Bay Area Lyme Foundation
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national nonprofit organization committed to making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, is a leading private sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the US. A national 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Silicon Valley, the Foundation collaborates with world-class scientists and institutions to accelerate medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease. It is also dedicated to providing reliable, fact-based information so that prevention and the importance of early treatment are common knowledge. For more information about Lyme disease or to get involved, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call us at 650-530-2439.
# # #
Contact:
Tara DiMilia
Phone: 908-884-7024
Tara.DiMilia@tmstrat.com