Mosquito, tick, and flea bites sickened more than 640,000 people from 2004 to 2016, underscoring the need for better ways to fight bugs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that nine new germs were spread by mosquitoes and ticks during the same time frame. The new data comes as mosquito season starts for most of the country.
“Zika, West Nile, Lyme, and chikungunya — a growing list of diseases caused by the bite of an infected mosquito, tick, or flea — have confronted the U.S. in recent years, making a lot of people sick,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield. “And we don’t know what will threaten Americans next.”
Illnesses linked to tick bites have become much more prevalent over 13 years.
“Diseases from ticks vary from region to region across the U.S., and those regions are expanding,” CDC said in the report.
The agency also found that from 2004 to 2016, seven new germs were discovered that could spread through infected tick bites.
CDC added that it is difficult to control diseases linked to bug bites. The agency added that the U.S. needed to be better prepared to face the diseases.
The report looked at data reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 16 diseases linked to bug bites.
In 2016, the most common tick diseases in the U.S. were Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis, a condition that resembles Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
“The most common mosquito-borne viruses were West Nile, dengue, and Zika,” CDC said. “Though rare, plague was the most common disease resulting from the bite of an infected flea.”
