Free online lyme disease prevention curriculum for children
May is Lyme & Tickborne Disease Awareness Month. With Vermont children schooling and playing at home, tick bite prevention is extremely important, according to a news release from vtlyme.org.
Students can learn about tick bite prevention and how to identify signs and symptoms of a tickborne illness with one of three interactive curricula for children in elementary, middle and high school.
Vermont consistently ranks among the highest states in the USA for incidence of Lyme disease. According to the CDC children between 3-14 are at highest risk of contracting Lyme disease.
Instructions about how to access the Global Lyme Alliance Lyme Prevention Curriculum and links are available online at VTLyme.org, or at
globallymealliance.org.
Tick-bite prevention and early diagnosis will help Vermont’s children stay healthy and can prevent long-term health complications from a tickborne disease.
Many Vermonters know about Lyme disease symptoms such as joint pain, fever, and a “bulls-eye” rash, but children may have a unique presentation of tickborne illnesses that can include vision problems, headaches, stomachaches, sudden anxiety, light and sound sensitivity, lethargy, and irregular rashes.
The Vermont Department of Health’s 2014 Lyme Surveillance Report showed less than half of Vermont children with confirmed cases of Lyme disease had a bull’s- eye rash that year. Other tickborne diseases present in Vermont may have different symptoms and treatments than Lyme disease.
For more information visit
VTLyme.org.
