By Caity Coyne, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As summer heat picks up with wet weather accompanying, more mosquitoes and ticks are bound to be buzzing and crawling around homes and outdoor gatherings, presenting a nuisance but also a potential health risk.
Stanley Mills, the head of environmental services at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said the risk of serious illness from the insects is relatively low, but not non-existent.
Ticks are best known for spreading Lyme disease. In recent years, Mills said, the number of Lyme disease cases in Kanawha County has been rising. The number of ticks, though, remains relatively consistent.
“We’re seeing about the same in general as we have in the past, but right now, with all the wet weather we’ve been having, it does seem the population is sky high,” Mills said. “If I go out in August, I probably won’t catch anything because it’s drier.” …