Lyme Disease-Carrying Ticks Are Turning Up On California's Beaches
The blood-sucking critters are capable of thriving along the western coast, according to new research. Though experts don't exactly know how they're picking up the bacteria that causes the illness.
As temperatures rise in California and people in search of respite head for the beach, there's a new concern beyond damaging sun rays and strong undercurrents: disease-carrying ticks that appear to be spreading all along the Golden State's coast.
The black-legged arachnids that carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme, are common on the East Coast, where they usually are found in wooded areas and tall grass. But new research shows the blood-sucking critters are capable of thriving along the West Coast too, though experts don't exactly know why or how.
