There was a time when Lyme disease was mainly a concern if you were going hiking in the woods or taking a trip to the Cape.
No more. As the Boston Globe reported this week, the tick-borne illness is surging across Massachusetts. Last year, there were more than 4,000 diagnosed cases, compared to 1,200 in 2000.
And the disease appears to be making inroads into the state’s most populated areas, into the suburbs surrounding the Boston area.
So what’s going on?
Experts say a big part of the reason is — sorry, Bambi — deer. They’re the main hosts for the tick that carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease — and they’re flourishing in the wooded areas that surround Boston’s suburbs.
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