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Lyme Disease: What To Know About Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention

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Monday, September 22, 2025

MONDAY, Sept. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States, a potentially disabling infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets.Another possible route of transmission, which is less well known and understudied, is from an infected pregnant mother to her unborn baby.Each year, the U.S. sees about 500,000 new cases of Lyme disease, according to statistics released in 2018 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Here’s what to know about how Lyme disease spreads, symptoms to watch for, treatment options and how to live well even if symptoms persist.What Is Lyme disease?Lyme disease is an infection caused mainly by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States. The bacteria are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks: the Western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) and Eastern blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), sometimes called a deer tick.The disease was first recognized in the 1970s after an outbreak in Lyme, Connecticut. Today, Lyme has been reported in all 50 states. However, while the geographic areas inhabited by ticks that carry Lyme-causing bacteria have expanded, ticks carrying these bacteria have not been identified in every state at this time.The highest rates are in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and parts of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.How Is Lyme disease transmitted?Ticks pick up the Lyme bacteria by feeding on infected animals, such as mice or birds. When an infected tick bites a person, the bacteria can be transmitted through the tick’s saliva.Ticks go through three life stages: larva, nymph and adult. Nymphs, which are roughly the size of a poppy seed, cause most human infections because they are easy to miss and active in warmer months when people are more often outdoors.How long a tick must be attached to a person’s skin before it transmits disease can vary. One European study documented six cases of confirmed Lyme disease in which tick attachment lasted less than six hours and nine more where transmission occurred in less than 24 hours.While it can take 24 to 36 hours for the bacteria to travel from the tick’s midgut to its salivary glands, transmission can start immediately in an estimated 10% of infected ticks that already carry bacteria in their saliva (due to having taken a partial blood meal before detaching and reattaching to a new host). Removing ticks promptly, ideally before they attach, is thus one of the best ways to prevent infection.What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?Symptoms can vary from mild to severe and may appear days, weeks or even months after the tick bite. Not everyone notices a tick or remembers being bitten. Symptoms vary from person to person and can be intermittent or changing and overlap across different stages, which makes diagnosis more confusing. Potential symptoms include but are not limited to:Early localized disease (days to weeks after infection):Expanding rash, sometimes with a bull’s-eye appearance (erythema migrans) — Importantly, a classic bullseye appearance with central clearing of the rash occurs in a minority of U.S. patients (about 20% reported in one study), although up to 80% of patients may have a rash of varying shapes Fatigue Fever and chills Headache Muscle and joint aches Swollen lymph nodes Early disseminated disease (weeks to months after infection):Multiple rashes on the body Facial weakness or paralysis, usually on one side but can be both (Bell’s palsy) Severe headaches and neck stiffness Pain, tingling or numbness in the arms or legs Cardiac problems, most commonly conduction disturbances (“heart block”) but also a variety of rhythm disturbances, pericarditis or myocarditis Late disease (months to years after infection):Joint swelling or pain, typically in a single or a few large joints such as the knee Neurological problems, such as numbness, tingling, vision/hearing problems or cognitive/memory issues. Reported across all stages of disease:Neuropsychiatric or behavioral manifestations (mood swings, anxiety, depression) Presumed dysautonomia symptoms, such as dizziness, lightheadedness, increased heart rate when standing, and temperature regulation issues, have also been described. Some people never develop the classic rash or other early symptoms, or these signs go unrecognized, so they first present with early disseminated or late-stage symptoms. Why is Lyme disease sometimes missed?Lyme disease is sometimes called “the great imitator” because its symptoms resemble those of other conditions such as flu, chronic fatigue syndrome or autoimmune disorders. Diagnosis is based on a combination of symptoms, possible tick exposure and lab tests.The standard blood tests detect antibodies to Lyme bacteria and not the infection itself. Therefore, these tests may not show a positive result in people with early infection, as their bodies have not yet produced enough antibodies. Importantly, it can also fail to detect later-stage disease, contributing to many missed diagnoses. For this reason, doctors rely on symptoms and exposure history in addition to lab tests when making a clinical diagnosis.How can you prevent Lyme disease?The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to prevent tick bites. Here’s how:Use U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535. Treat clothing and gear with permethrin. Wear long sleeves, long pants and closed shoes when in grassy or wooded areas. Tuck pants into socks to block ticks from crawling up legs. Stay in the center of trails and avoid tall grass or leaf litter. Check your body, clothing, gear and pets for ticks after outdoor activities. Shower within two hours of coming indoors to help remove ticks before they attach. If you find an attached tick, remove it promptly with fine-tipped tweezers, grasping it close to the skin and pulling straight out.Once removed, consider sending the tick for testing to determine what pathogens it may be carrying. This will give you a good gauge of what to look out for.Of note, if the tick is carrying pathogens, it does not necessarily mean they were passed to you, and if the tick is not carrying pathogens, you should still consider that it is possible you were bitten by another tick that went unnoticed.How Is Lyme disease treated?Early Lyme disease is typically treated with oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and CDC recommend 10 to 14 days of antibiotics for early-stage Lyme disease with the caveat that regimens “may need to be adjusted depending on factors such as age, medical history, underlying health conditions, pregnancy status or allergies.” The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), recommends four to six weeks of antibiotics, with the duration tailored to the patient’s response and clinical circumstances; ILADS guidelines also state that, when necessary, antibiotic therapy should be extended. Patients with certain neurological or cardiac forms of illness may require intravenous treatment with drugs such as ceftriaxone or penicillin.  More advanced neurological or joint disease sometimes requires treatment with longer and more complex regimens or IV antibiotics. Many people can recover fully with prompt treatment, but some continue to experience symptoms for months or years after finishing antibiotics.What about lingering symptoms?Persistent symptoms after treatment, sometimes called persistent Lyme disease (PLD) or Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), can include, but are not limited to, fatigue, pain and cognitive difficulties. The cause is debated. The possibility of unidentified coinfections contributing to lingering symptoms should be excluded with testing. Additional hypotheses for the cause of persistent symptoms include incompletely eradicated Lyme bacteria, lingering immune responses (autoimmunity), residual tissue damage and other complicating factors acting individually or in combination.Scientific studies funded by Bay Area Lyme Foundation have shown that Lyme infection can persist post-treatment due to Lyme bacteria that are not completely eradicated.On the horizon: Next steps in researchResearchers across the country, including teams supported by Bay Area Lyme Foundation and its affiliates, are working to close critical gaps in Lyme disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.Current priorities include creating more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests that not only better detect infection early on but also improve recognition of past and late-stage disease, distinguish active from past infections, and confirm when treatment has been successful.Efforts are also underway to identify new therapeutic options for patients with persistent symptoms, to explore vaccines, develop novel prevention tools, and to deepen scientific understanding of Lyme bacteria and the immune system’s response to it.How Bay Area Lyme Foundation is powering progressBay Area Lyme Foundation funds innovative research and fosters collaboration among scientists, clinicians and public health experts to accelerate solutions for Lyme disease.The Foundation’s initiatives include supporting the development of next-generation diagnostics and advancing potential new treatments. It is the founding/operating Lyme Disease Biobank, a vital resource of well-characterized biological samples — including donated blood, urine and tissue  — for researchers worldwide.With its mission to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, Bay Area Lyme Foundation is committed to reducing the impact of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases for patients everywhere.The bottom lineLyme disease is common, but with awareness, early diagnosis and effective treatment, most people recover fully.To reduce the burden of the disease and help those with persistent symptoms, continued research into new, more accurate diagnostics and improved treatments is essential.Prevention is key: Protect yourself against tick bites, check for ticks after being outdoors, and seek medical care promptly if you develop symptoms.Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, is a pediatric infectious diseases physician whose area of clinical focus is Lyme disease and associated infections. She is a member of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s Advisory Board and Science Committee. Graduating from Harvard Medical School, she completed her pediatric residency and pediatric ID fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her prior area of subspecialty during 25 years at Boston Children’s Hospital was pediatric HIV clinical care and clinical research. She turned her focus to Lyme disease and associated infections on gaining extensive clinical experience with pediatric Lyme disease in the referral infectious disease clinic there. Later joining the Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, she provided consultative pediatric infectious disease specialty care in a multidisciplinary clinic for children with complex Lyme disease and associated infections at the Dean Center for Tickborne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Click here to read her published paper entitled Microbes and Mental Illness: Past, Present, and Future.Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

By Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH, Bay Area Lyme Foundation HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Sept. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Lyme disease is the most common...

MONDAY, Sept. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States, a potentially disabling infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets.

Another possible route of transmission, which is less well known and understudied, is from an infected pregnant mother to her unborn baby.

Each year, the U.S. sees about 500,000 new cases of Lyme disease, according to statistics released in 2018 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Here’s what to know about how Lyme disease spreads, symptoms to watch for, treatment options and how to live well even if symptoms persist.

What Is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused mainly by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States. The bacteria are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks: the Western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) and Eastern blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), sometimes called a deer tick.

The disease was first recognized in the 1970s after an outbreak in Lyme, Connecticut. Today, Lyme has been reported in all 50 states. However, while the geographic areas inhabited by ticks that carry Lyme-causing bacteria have expanded, ticks carrying these bacteria have not been identified in every state at this time.

The highest rates are in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and parts of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

How Is Lyme disease transmitted?

Ticks pick up the Lyme bacteria by feeding on infected animals, such as mice or birds. When an infected tick bites a person, the bacteria can be transmitted through the tick’s saliva.

Ticks go through three life stages: larva, nymph and adult. Nymphs, which are roughly the size of a poppy seed, cause most human infections because they are easy to miss and active in warmer months when people are more often outdoors.

How long a tick must be attached to a person’s skin before it transmits disease can vary. One European study documented six cases of confirmed Lyme disease in which tick attachment lasted less than six hours and nine more where transmission occurred in less than 24 hours.

While it can take 24 to 36 hours for the bacteria to travel from the tick’s midgut to its salivary glands, transmission can start immediately in an estimated 10% of infected ticks that already carry bacteria in their saliva (due to having taken a partial blood meal before detaching and reattaching to a new host). 

Removing ticks promptly, ideally before they attach, is thus one of the best ways to prevent infection.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Symptoms can vary from mild to severe and may appear days, weeks or even months after the tick bite. Not everyone notices a tick or remembers being bitten. 

Symptoms vary from person to person and can be intermittent or changing and overlap across different stages, which makes diagnosis more confusing. Potential symptoms include but are not limited to:

Early localized disease (days to weeks after infection):

  • Expanding rash, sometimes with a bull’s-eye appearance (erythema migrans) — Importantly, a classic bullseye appearance with central clearing of the rash occurs in a minority of U.S. patients (about 20% reported in one study), although up to 80% of patients may have a rash of varying shapes

  • Fatigue

  • Fever and chills

  • Headache

  • Muscle and joint aches

  • Swollen lymph nodes

Early disseminated disease (weeks to months after infection):

  • Multiple rashes on the body

  • Facial weakness or paralysis, usually on one side but can be both (Bell’s palsy)

  • Severe headaches and neck stiffness

  • Pain, tingling or numbness in the arms or legs

  • Cardiac problems, most commonly conduction disturbances (“heart block”) but also a variety of rhythm disturbances, pericarditis or myocarditis

Late disease (months to years after infection):

  • Joint swelling or pain, typically in a single or a few large joints such as the knee

  • Neurological problems, such as numbness, tingling, vision/hearing problems or cognitive/memory issues.

Reported across all stages of disease:

  • Neuropsychiatric or behavioral manifestations (mood swings, anxiety, depression)

  • Presumed dysautonomia symptoms, such as dizziness, lightheadedness, increased heart rate when standing, and temperature regulation issues, have also been described.

Some people never develop the classic rash or other early symptoms, or these signs go unrecognized, so they first present with early disseminated or late-stage symptoms. 

Why is Lyme disease sometimes missed?

Lyme disease is sometimes called “the great imitator” because its symptoms resemble those of other conditions such as flu, chronic fatigue syndrome or autoimmune disorders. Diagnosis is based on a combination of symptoms, possible tick exposure and lab tests.

The standard blood tests detect antibodies to Lyme bacteria and not the infection itself. Therefore, these tests may not show a positive result in people with early infection, as their bodies have not yet produced enough antibodies. 

Importantly, it can also fail to detect later-stage disease, contributing to many missed diagnoses. For this reason, doctors rely on symptoms and exposure history in addition to lab tests when making a clinical diagnosis.

How can you prevent Lyme disease?

The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to prevent tick bites. Here’s how:

  • Use U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535.

  • Treat clothing and gear with permethrin.

  • Wear long sleeves, long pants and closed shoes when in grassy or wooded areas.

  • Tuck pants into socks to block ticks from crawling up legs.

  • Stay in the center of trails and avoid tall grass or leaf litter.

  • Check your body, clothing, gear and pets for ticks after outdoor activities.

  • Shower within two hours of coming indoors to help remove ticks before they attach.

If you find an attached tick, remove it promptly with fine-tipped tweezers, grasping it close to the skin and pulling straight out.

Once removed, consider sending the tick for testing to determine what pathogens it may be carrying. This will give you a good gauge of what to look out for.

Of note, if the tick is carrying pathogens, it does not necessarily mean they were passed to you, and if the tick is not carrying pathogens, you should still consider that it is possible you were bitten by another tick that went unnoticed.

How Is Lyme disease treated?

Early Lyme disease is typically treated with oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and CDC recommend 10 to 14 days of antibiotics for early-stage Lyme disease with the caveat that regimens “may need to be adjusted depending on factors such as age, medical history, underlying health conditions, pregnancy status or allergies.” 

The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), recommends four to six weeks of antibiotics, with the duration tailored to the patient’s response and clinical circumstances; ILADS guidelines also state that, when necessary, antibiotic therapy should be extended. Patients with certain neurological or cardiac forms of illness may require intravenous treatment with drugs such as ceftriaxone or penicillin.  

More advanced neurological or joint disease sometimes requires treatment with longer and more complex regimens or IV antibiotics. Many people can recover fully with prompt treatment, but some continue to experience symptoms for months or years after finishing antibiotics.

What about lingering symptoms?

Persistent symptoms after treatment, sometimes called persistent Lyme disease (PLD) or Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), can include, but are not limited to, fatigue, pain and cognitive difficulties. The cause is debated. The possibility of unidentified coinfections contributing to lingering symptoms should be excluded with testing. 

Additional hypotheses for the cause of persistent symptoms include incompletely eradicated Lyme bacteria, lingering immune responses (autoimmunity), residual tissue damage and other complicating factors acting individually or in combination.

Scientific studies funded by Bay Area Lyme Foundation have shown that Lyme infection can persist post-treatment due to Lyme bacteria that are not completely eradicated.

On the horizon: Next steps in research

Researchers across the country, including teams supported by Bay Area Lyme Foundation and its affiliates, are working to close critical gaps in Lyme disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Current priorities include creating more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests that not only better detect infection early on but also improve recognition of past and late-stage disease, distinguish active from past infections, and confirm when treatment has been successful.

Efforts are also underway to identify new therapeutic options for patients with persistent symptoms, to explore vaccines, develop novel prevention tools, and to deepen scientific understanding of Lyme bacteria and the immune system’s response to it.

How Bay Area Lyme Foundation is powering progress

Bay Area Lyme Foundation funds innovative research and fosters collaboration among scientists, clinicians and public health experts to accelerate solutions for Lyme disease.

The Foundation’s initiatives include supporting the development of next-generation diagnostics and advancing potential new treatments. It is the founding/operating Lyme Disease Biobank, a vital resource of well-characterized biological samples — including donated blood, urine and tissue  — for researchers worldwide.

With its mission to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, Bay Area Lyme Foundation is committed to reducing the impact of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases for patients everywhere.

The bottom line

Lyme disease is common, but with awareness, early diagnosis and effective treatment, most people recover fully.

To reduce the burden of the disease and help those with persistent symptoms, continued research into new, more accurate diagnostics and improved treatments is essential.

Prevention is key: Protect yourself against tick bites, check for ticks after being outdoors, and seek medical care promptly if you develop symptoms.

Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, is a pediatric infectious diseases physician whose area of clinical focus is Lyme disease and associated infections. She is a member of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s Advisory Board and Science Committee. Graduating from Harvard Medical School, she completed her pediatric residency and pediatric ID fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her prior area of subspecialty during 25 years at Boston Children’s Hospital was pediatric HIV clinical care and clinical research. She turned her focus to Lyme disease and associated infections on gaining extensive clinical experience with pediatric Lyme disease in the referral infectious disease clinic there. Later joining the Department of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, she provided consultative pediatric infectious disease specialty care in a multidisciplinary clinic for children with complex Lyme disease and associated infections at the Dean Center for Tickborne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Click here to read her published paper entitled Microbes and Mental Illness: Past, Present, and Future.

Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects an estimated 30 million Americans, yet half remain undiagnosed. In Texas, the burden is especially high — both in human and economic terms. As November marks COPD Awareness Month, the COPD Action Alliance urges Texans to not only raise awareness but also advocate for stronger policies that improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment

BY COPD ACTION ALLIANCE COPD impacts Texas in a Big Way Texas ranks among the states most burdened by COPD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the age-adjusted adult COPD prevalence in Texas is 5.6 percent, representing roughly 1.3 million Texans living with the disease. The economic toll of COPD in Texas is significant. The state spends over $2.35 billion annually on medical costs associated with COPD. Additionally, absenteeism due to the condition costs the state approximately $3.7 million each year.  Prevalence is highest in rural and Gulf Coast counties, where access to pulmonologists and pulmonary rehabilitation remains limited. State surveillance data from the Texas Department of State Health Services show that Texans living in rural areas and those with lower incomes or less education face significantly higher rates of COPD. What Is COPD? COPD is a progressive lung disease that causes inflammation and airflow blockage, making breathing a daily challenge. It includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema and is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 130,000 lives each year. While smoking is a leading cause, one in four COPD patients have never smoked. Environmental exposure, occupational hazards, asthma, and genetic factors like Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency also contribute. The good news: COPD is highly treatable — particularly when caught early. Today’s options range from inhalers and pulmonary rehabilitation to breakthrough biologic therapies recently approved by the FDA. Suzi Media – stock.adobe.comThe Changing Faces of COPD The image of COPD as a “smoker’s disease” no longer holds true. 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Radioactive pollution still haunts Hunters Point in San Francisco

Last week, residents were informed by the San Francisco Department of Health that a test taken in November 2024 at the former site of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard showed radiation levels of airborne Plutonium 239 had exceeded the Navy's "action level."

San Francisco — More than a half century after the U.S. ignited 67 atomic weapons in the the central Pacific Ocean, a former Navy base in the Bay Area continues to carry that nuclear legacy.Last week, residents were informed by the San Francisco Department of Health that a test taken in November 2024 at the former site of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard showed radiation levels of airborne Plutonium-239 had exceeded the Navy’s “action level,” requiring the military to further investigate. The city and the residents were not informed until 11 months after that initial reading. Hunters Point, a 500-acre peninsula jutting out into San Francisco Bay, served as a military laboratory to study the effects of nuclear weapons from 1946-69 following World War II. 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The elevated readings from November 2024 came from a 78-acre tract of land on the northeast portion of the shipyard, known as Parcel C.“The City and County of San Francisco is deeply concerned by both the magnitude of this exceedance and the failure to provide timely notification,” wrote San Francisco Health Officer Susan Philip in an Oct. 30 letter to Navy officials. “Such a delay undermines our ability to safeguard public health and maintain transparency. Immediate notification is a regulatory requirement and is critical for ensuring community trust and safety.”Navy officials and some health experts insist the radiation levels detected at the site, while above the Navy’s action level, did not pose an imminent or substantial threat to public health. Exposure to this level of Plutonium-239 every day for one year would be less than one-tenth the dose of radiation from a chest X-ray, according to a Navy spokesperson. “The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s letter references a single outlier air sample that detected Plutonium-239 above the regulatory action level,” a Navy spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “Regulatory action levels are deliberately and conservatively established below levels of health concern, and a single detection of Pu-239 at this level does not pose a risk to human health or public safety.”The Navy said it has collected more than 200 ambient air monitoring samples from Parcel C since it began performing fieldwork there in 2023. The November 2024 sample was the only reading with elevated Plutonium-239, the Navy spokesperson told The Times. Plutonium isotopes emit alpha radiation that is relatively benign outside the body, because it cannot travel through solid objects. However, if these radioactive particles are inhaled, they can damage the lungs and increase the long-term risk of developing certain cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “What we generally are concerned about for alpha emitters is if you get them into your body, and either through inhalation, ingestion, inadvertent injection — like somebody gets a cut and it gets into their body,” said Kathryn Higley, a professor of nuclear science at Oregon State University. But it’s the lack of transparency and the 11-month delay in reporting the reading that has fomented community mistrust and raised questions regarding the military’s competency to safely clean up the polluted shipyard. In 2000, the EPA admonished naval officials for neglecting to inform residents that a fire had broken out at a hazardous landfill at Hunters Point. In 2017, two employees of the consulting firm Tetra Tech, who were hired by the Navy to assess radiation levels at Hunters Point, pleaded guilty to falsifying data in an effort to avoid having to perform additional cleanup on some areas of the shipyard. The presence of radioactive air contaminants — at any level — compounds the health risks of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, which already faces high exposure to toxic diesel particles from big rigs traveling on nearby freeways and cargo ships visiting the Port of San Francisco. Hunters Point Biomonitoring Foundation, a local nonprofit, has found concerning levels of toxic substances in urine screenings it has provided to several residents of the neighborhood, especially among older individuals and those living closer to the former Naval shipyard.“Now, you’re talking about adding one of the most devastating radionuclides known to the human cardiopulmonary system to the chemical burden,” said Dr. Ahmisa Porter Sumchai, the foundation’s medical director and principal investigator. “The particulate load is enough to kill people,” Sumchai added. “But you add ... a little Plutonium-239, and it’s a recipe for death.” Philip, the San Francisco health officer, said in a statement that she met with Navy officials Oct. 31 and received assurances that air and dust monitoring is “ongoing” and that the military agency is “reviewing their duct control methods to ensure they are fully protective of public health.”As a result, “no immediate action is required from a public health safety standpoint,” she said, adding that her office will continue to closely monitor the situation.Other experts argued the situation was overblown. Phil Rutherford, a radiological risk expert and corporate consultant, called the delayed notification “unacceptable” but said the San Francisco health department’s letter was “a storm in a teacup” considering the low levels of radioactive material.Higley, the Oregon State professor, said the site’s long history of delays and scandals likely added to backlash from community members. “I understand [residents’] frustration that they want to see this place cleaned up so that they can safely use it,” Higley said. “And there’s been a lot of reasons for why this process takes so long. But, from a radiological perspective, the actual residual radioactivity at the site is pretty modest.”In November 2024, a Navy contractor was grinding asphalt on the site — a construction project that, while unrelated to the site’s historical contamination, triggered the Navy to monitor for any air quality issues. One of its air samplers, in Parcel C — collected 8.16 times 10‐15 picocuries per milliliter of Plutonium-239 — twice the established action level — according to a Navy spokesperson. Navy officials sent the sample to a lab for analysis, and the initial results came back in March 2025, showing high radiation levels. In April, they ordered the lab to reanalyze the sample. In the follow-up analysis, radiation levels of Plutonium-239 were below action levels.Between May and September, the Navy “further investigated the test results and conducted a methodical review of the laboratory’s procedures and practices to ensure they complied with standards,” according to the Navy spokesperson. “A third party also conducted an analysis of the lab’s performance.”Later that September, the Navy told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several California state agencies about the elevated airborne radiation from Plutonium-239, in preparation for an upcoming community meeting. That information later trickled down to the San Francisco health department. At some point, the Navy published some air quality data for Parcel C gathered between October and December 2024 on a website where it curates several environmental monitoring reports. That report only showed the lower Plutonium-239 radiation levels from the reanalysis were below the action level.A Navy spokesperson told The Times that it was “mistakenly uploaded.”“As soon as the Navy realized an incomplete report was uploaded, it was removed from the website,” the spokesperson said, while the Navy worked to verify the results. All that has contributed to the confusion and concern among locals and advocates alike. Navy officials are expected to attend a Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting on Nov. 17. When fieldwork is occurring at the shipyard, the Navy monitors for Plutonium-239 and several other radioactive elements that may have resulted from historic fallout from atomic weapons testing. Acquired by the Navy in 1940, Hunters Point was initially a base where ships were built, repaired and maintained during World War II. After the war ended, it became home to the Navy Radiological Defense Laboratory, a military research facility dedicated to investigating the effects of nuclear weapons and radiological safety.The Navy bombarded a fleet of U.S. warships with nuclear weapons as a part of atomic testing in the Marshall Islands. The irradiated vessels were towed to Hunters Point, and used as the material and hardware upon which scientists tested decontamination methods. In 1974, the shipyard was deactivated. Hazardous chemicals and low-level radiological contamination were identified, prompting the U.S. EPA to place the site on its Superfund list in 1989. The Navy has led cleanup efforts, excavating contaminated soil and demolishing buildings. A largely residential parcel of the base, Parcel A, was turned over to San Francisco and has been redeveloped with new town houses and condos. A collective of 300 artists live and work in former naval buildings. But dangers continue to emerge during ongoing remediation work. In recent years, the Navy has recovered radioactive objects, including dials and deck markers coated with paint containing Radium isotopes to provide a glow-in-the-dark effect. Sumchai, medical director of the biomonitoring foundation, said she has observed large stockpiles of contaminated soil held in areas without any protective fencing to prevent contaminants from spreading off site. “I view this as a local public health emergency,” Sumchai said. “I think that everything should be done to contain it and to remove people safely, if necessary, from documented areas of exposure.”But to the casual observer the site looks unremarkable.Hunters Point juts out into the San Francisco Bay just north of where Candlestick Park, the former home of the San Francisco 49ers, used to stand. Beyond the abandoned barracks and drydocks, the site is now mostly an empty expanse of grass and reeds, with an unobstructed view of the bay. The cleanup sites, including Parcel C, are still fenced off, and only those with authorized credentials are allowed onto the property.On a recent weekday afternoon, ravens flew and cawed over the long-vacant shipyard buildings, while construction crews and trucks ferried building equipment up and down Hill Drive — a steep road leading to brand new homes standing sentinel over the former shipyard.And beyond waiting for a new batch of Navy reports, there was no way of knowing what’s in the air.

Health
Chemicals
Science

Check Your City: Air Pollution Linked to Slower Marathon Times

By Deanna Neff HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, Nov. 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Does the city you run in make a difference? Researchers say yes, it...

By Deanna Neff HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, Nov. 6, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Does the city you run in make a difference? Researchers say yes, it does.When marathon runners hit the wall or fall behind their goal pace, they often blame fatigue, weather or nutrition. However, a study from Brown University published in Sports Medicine suggests a less obvious, environmental culprit: air pollution.Researchers analyzed a dataset of 2.6 million marathon finish times from major U.S. races, including those in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, spanning 17 years and matched it to estimated pollution levels from weather stations. They found a direct link between slower average finish times and higher concentrations of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5.The data also showed that the fastest runners were more affected by this effect.PM2.5 refers to tiny pollutants smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. These particles are often the focus of air-quality health advisories, because they can travel deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation and chest constriction, reports The New York Times.The study revealed a measurable slowdown tied to PM2.5 levels. For every increase of one microgram per cubic meter increase in these tiny particles, the average finish time for runners dropped.In other words, on a day with even moderately elevated pollution, a runner's time could be slower by several minutes.The Los Angeles Marathon generally had the highest estimated median pollution levels and the slowest median finish times among the races studied. While this could owe to other factors like warmer weather and a hillier course, the overall pattern of slower finishes in more polluted races held true across all cities, even when comparing different years within the same marathon city.Boston had the fastest average finish time and one of the cleanest air levels among the cities, along with Minneapolis/St. Paul and New York City.What makes this finding particularly notable is that it affects even the fittest individuals. “What’s notable is that we’re looking at people who are all incredibly healthy,” Joseph Braun, a professor of epidemiology at Brown, told The New York Times. “But even among really healthy people, air pollution is having an important, albeit subtle, effect on your physiology.”Surprisingly, the slowdown was more pronounced for faster-than-average runners. Researchers suspect this may be because elite and competitive marathoners breathe in more air — and do so more rapidly — inhaling a larger dose of the pollution over the 26.2-mile course.PM2.5 primarily comes from the burning of fossil fuels — such as from power plants, gasoline or diesel vehicles — as well as from forest fires and wood burning. While air quality has improved in many U.S. regions, short-term spikes from sources like wildfire smoke have become a growing concern, The Times said. SOURCE: The New York Times, Nov. 1, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health
Pollution

New Study Links Wildfire Smoke to Premature Births

By I. Edwards HealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, Nov. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Wildfire smoke may do more than harm the lungs.New research shows it...

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Wildfire smoke may do more than harm the lungs.New research shows it could also raise the risk of premature birth.A large study from the University of Washington found that pregnant people exposed to wildfire smoke were more likely to deliver early.The findings, published Nov. 3 in The Lancet Planetary Health, are based on more than 20,000 births across the United States between 2006 and 2020.About 10% of babies in the U.S. are born early, which can lead to lifelong health problems. While air pollution has already been linked to preterm birth, this is one of the biggest studies so far to look specifically at wildfire smoke as a contributor, researchers said.“Preventing preterm birth really pays off with lasting benefits for future health,” said lead author Allison Sherris, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle.“It’s also something of a mystery. We don’t always understand why babies are born preterm, but we know that air pollution contributes to preterm births, and it makes sense that wildfire smoke would as well," she added in a news release. "This study underscores that wildfire smoke is inseparable from maternal and infant health.”Researchers measured how often pregnant people were exposed to wildfire-related fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5, and how much they were exposed.The risk of preterm birth was higher when exposure happened in the second trimester, especially around week 21. Later in pregnancy, the biggest risk came from high levels of wildfire smoke, above 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The strongest link was seen in the Western U.S., where wildfire smoke has become more frequent and intense. “The second trimester is a period of pregnancy with the richest and most intense growth of the placenta, which itself is such an important part of fetal health, growth and development,” said co-author Dr. Catherine Karr, a professor of pediatrics and environmental health."So it may be that the wildfire smoke particles are really interfering with placental health," Karr added in a news release. "Some of them are so tiny that after inhalation they can actually get into the bloodstream and get delivered directly into the placenta or fetus.”Researchers say more work is needed to understand exactly how wildfire smoke affects pregnancy, but the evidence is now strong enough to take action for pregnant people."There’s an opportunity to work with clinicians to provide tools for pregnant people to protect themselves during smoke events," Sherris said. "Public health agencies’ messaging about wildfire smoke could also be tailored to pregnant people and highlight them as a vulnerable group."SOURCE: University of Washington, news release, Nov. 3, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health
Pollution

Light Pollution Harming Heart Health, Study Says

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Nov. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The bright lights of the big city might seem dazzling, but they can be...

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, Nov. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The bright lights of the big city might seem dazzling, but they can be hard on your heart health, a new study says.People exposed to high levels of artificial light have an increasingly higher risk of heart disease, researchers are scheduled to report at a Nov. 10 meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.Higher exposure to artificial light at night was associated with a 35% increased risk of heart disease within five years, and a 22% increased risk over 10 years, researchers found.“We found a nearly linear relationship between nighttime light and heart disease: the more night-light exposure, the higher the risk,” senior researcher Dr. Shady Abohashem, head of PET/CT cardiac imaging trials at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a news release.For the new study, researchers analyzed the health of 466 adults with an average age of 55 who’d undergone a PET or CT scan at Massachusetts General Hospital between 2005 and 2008.The team compared the participants’ health and brain scans to their exposure to artificial light, based on their home address.Results showed that higher levels of artificial light caused brain stress activity and blood vessel inflammation.“Even modest increases in night-time light were linked with higher brain and artery stress,” Abohashem said. “When the brain perceives stress, it activates signals that can trigger an immune response and inflame the blood vessels. Over time, this process can contribute to hardening of the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.”Over a decade, 17% of the people developed a major heart condition. Their light exposure was associated with risk of heart disease, even after accounting for other risk factors.Heart risks were even higher among people who lived in areas with high traffic noise, lower neighborhood income or other environmental factors that can add to stress, researchers said.To counter these ill effects, “people can limit indoor nighttime light, keeping bedrooms dark and avoiding screens such as TVs and personal electronic devices before bed,” Abohashem said.Cities also might improve folks’ health by reducing unnecessary outdoor lighting, shielding street lamps, or using motion-sensitive lights, researchers said.“These findings are novel and add to the evidence suggesting that reducing exposure to excessive artificial light at night is a public health concern,” Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, an American Heart Association spokesman, said in a news release.“We know too much exposure to artificial light at night can harm your health, particularly increasing the risk of heart disease. However, we did not know how this harm happened,” said Fernandez-Mendoza, director of behavioral sleep medicine at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.“This study has investigated one of several possible causes, which is how our brains respond to stress,” he explained. “This response seems to play a big role in linking artificial light at night to heart disease.”Researchers next plan to see whether reducing nighttime light exposure might improve people’s heart health.Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Nov. 3, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health
Pollution

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Allergy Alert: Paranoia in Our Immune System

From peanuts and pollen to cats and dust mites, allergy rates are soaring dramatically all over the globe, with inoffensive substances triggering life-threatening physical responses. Experts are predicting that by 2050, one in two will suffer from an allergy. Why are our immune systems overreacting in this way? To stem the tide of the epidemic, scientists are investigating the interface between genetics, environmental factors and our modern lifestyle, and developing revolutionary new approaches to prevention and treatment.

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Riding Bikes with the Dutch

Michael Bauch, a Long Beach resident and independent filmmaker, noticed that many of his local errands involved short rides which were less than three miles. In the summer of 2007 he and his family went to Amsterdam, to document the biking and walking culture that is so natural to the Dutch people. The film suggests that we in the U.S. re-examine our view of bicycles.

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We Are Nature

We made this short film under lockdown conditions throughout the pandemic of Covid-19. The film argues that policies are not enough to prevent a future outbreak. We need a paradigm shift in how we view nature and the rest of life on this planet. The film was made remotely via zoom, a fact made clear in the style of the film. Our speakers appear on screens, which we filmed from inside our homes. Each speaker offers a different perspective on the origins of the pandemic in the ways we see and value nature. If humans can’t escape their connection to the natural world, it’s time for a better one. The health of us and the planet depends on it.

Health
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Animals

Sprayed

An exploration of what happens when whole communities get exposed to toxins: Naled sprayed on Miami residents to fight Zika virus, Agent Orange sprayed on the Vietcong, and release of GMO mosquitoes in Brazil with pyriproxyfen added to drinking water to fight dengue. What are the results for nature and humanity? We meet Agent Orange survivors at Vietnamese detoxification and rehabilitation centers, parents of babies born with microcephaly from Zika virus, and Florida residents dealing with efforts to kill mosquitoes carrying Zika virus. Perspectives of doctors, scientists, and politicians are balanced with voices of ordinary citizens and victims to explore concerns about the potential impact on current and future generations.

Chemicals
Health
Science

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