Vol. 43, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2005- "The Pennsylvania Geographer"

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARDS OF LEADING TICK-BORNE

DISEASES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Eugene J. Palka

Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering

United States Military Academy

Abstract

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease are the two most prevalent tick-borne diseases in the United States. The former has been known for more than one-hundred years, while the latter was discovered only about 30 years ago. The diseases are examples of environmental health hazards that exist in nature, independent of human activity. High-risk areas of the country are those regions that offer the ideal environmental conditions for the agent, vector, host and reservoir for each disease. While Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is prevalent in the Southeastern US and extends through the Mid-South, Lyme disease is concentrated in the Middle-Atlantic and southern New England, with a lesser concentration in the upper Mid-West. Although there are considerable differences between the two diseases, they also have a number of similarities. A geographic perspective enables us to better understand both environmental health hazards.