However, since New York City is a low risk area for Lyme disease , vaccination is not recommended for City residents who have little or no exposure to tick infested areas. The Lyme disease vaccine is not available through the City Department of Health. Any individual interested in the vaccine should consult with his or her own physician or health care provider. Dr. Cohen emphasized that a person who is vaccinated against Lyme disease must continue to guard against ticks because ticks can carry other diseases which the vaccine does not protect against. RMSF is characterized by the sudden onset of high fever, severe headache, fatigue, deep muscle pain, chills, and rash.
Symptoms usually appear within two weeks of the bite of an infected tick.
In extreme cases, RMSF can be fatal. Most of those cases were acquired in the City. In cooperation with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, the Health Department has collected ticks in parks and tested them for tickborne disease, and is monitoring conditions which may affect the number of ticks in an area. This pilot project helps further identify areas where Lyme disease and RMSF may be more common.