If you have a pet or child that likes to play outdoors, you are probably familiar with ticks. But, contradictory to popular belief, a tick is actually an arachnid, not an insect.

Ticks are the second most common carrier of diseases (mosquitoes being the first). It is estimated that 70% of all Lyme Disease cases are caused by tick bites from ticks in our own yards, often via pets. So tick prevention and control are very important. Some species of ticks are more harmful than others and some are more likely to carry deadly diseases, and we discuss that too.

Since 11 News anchor Donna Hamilton contracted Lyme disease last summer, the 11 News team has discovered there is a lot people don’t know about the disease, as well as plenty of controversy in the medical community.

The major reason for the limited market revenues is that there is no approved drug for Lyme disease treatment.

DANBURYConnecticut State Entomologist Dr. Kirby Stafford, an internationally recognized expert on Lyme disease and the ticks that carry it, will discuss the origins and nature of the disease and means to prevent its infectious spread to humans in a lecture on Thursday, March 18, at Western .