Summertime calls for tick awareness, and vigilance over tick-borne diseases

by Kate Evans

Plentiful spring rains encouraged an environment in which ticks are thriving this year.  Health officials are advising people to be on the lookout for ticks when outdoors.

Keep checking for ticks on yourself, your children and pets and watching for symptoms of tick bites, Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness in yourself and family members.

The Eastern Panhandle is the heart of Lyme disease in West Virginia and the disease is extremely…