Four Island healthcare institutions and the Fledgling Fund are collaborating to present a conference on the current state of tick-borne diseases on Martha’s Vineyard.
The conference will be held on Saturday, June 10, from 8:30 am until noon at the Katharine Cornell Theater in Vineyard Haven. It’s free and open to the public.
The full morning conference will conclude with a panel discussion to consider concerns and questions.
“The purpose of the conference is to update healthcare providers and the public at large to the current trends in the tick-borne diseases on the Island,” said Dr. Gerry Yukevich, a retired physician from Vineyard Medical Care and moderator of the event. “In the past three years clinicians have seen a surge in new tick-related illnesses, most notably the “alpha-gal syndrome” and lone-star tick skin infestations. We would like to provide practical information on the acute presentation, treatment, and the prevention of these new afflictions. We will also review acute Lyme disease and other tick-vectored clinical syndromes.”
Primary speakers include Dr. Sam Telford of Tufts University, a world-renowned authority on tick epidemiology and diseases, Dr. Robert Smith of Maine Medical Center, a highly respected infectious disease and tick-borne disease international authority, and Patrick Roden-Reynolds, public health biologist of the Island Health Care and Tick-Borne Disease Initiative.
“The intention of this concentrated effort early in the tick season is to inform and prepare clinicians, Island residents, and visitors of ways to recognize the symptoms and prudent methods to avoid acquiring the conditions carried by these tiny, dangerous, increasingly ubiquitous creatures,” Dr. Yukevich said.
Sponsoring organizations include Vineyard Medical Care, Island Health Care, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Island Tick-Borne Disease Initiative, and the Fledgling Fund.