If the warnings were accurate, shouldn't there be many thousands of cases every year? Not to say Lyme isn't serious - I know of one debilitated person who attributes it to Lyme - but the risk seems to be exaggerated, IMHO.
I certainly know lots of people who have been very severely affected by Lyme disease. Maybe it is co-incidental that I visited one in the hospital tonight in Winchester, VA. She is crippled from arthritic symptoms that they just recently diagnosed as Lyme disease. My FIL went through a lot of pain and tests, over nearly two years, before they found that he had Lyme disease (Mt. Kisco, NY).
The crazy thing about the CDC link above, is that West Virginia has very low rates compared to adjoining states. My property abuts the Virginia state line. I'm pretty close to the Maryland border, which is just a few miles from the Pennsylvania border (and Sunil's pond). West Virginia has extremely low rates, while VA, MD, and PA all have very high rates. I guess I should just be glad to be in WV.
