Hide and Seek, No Ticks Please

No Ticks, Please.

Jose and Alex's adventures in the bushes, tall grasses, and wooded areas put them at risk for getting ticks. This story offers Lyme disease prevention education for school-age children, and through the No Ticks, Please steps they discover how to prevent ticks from transmitting diseases. Illustrations.

. Hide-and-Seek: No Ticks, Please is a story about Jose´ and Alex’s adventures in the bushes, tall grasses, and wooded areas.  During their exploration, they find hidden treasures and hidden dangers. Alex learns about Jose´’s discovery of a hidden danger and how it will change their adventures. She also learns steps to keep them both safe.

• Of the estimated 20 million 7- to 11-year old children in the United States (2000-2010 census), 60,000 have confirmed cases of Lyme disease (cdc.gov). The CDC estimates the incidence rate is 20 times that number due to several factors.

• The incidence of Lyme disease is reported in nearly every state of the United States with significant reports in 13 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

• Educating children about prevention strategies against ticks will save families costly devastating effects:  financial—diagnosis and treatment can be a significant cost; physical—misdiagnosis leads to severe health complications including heart and neurological symptoms; social/emotional—being misunderstood as the symptoms may be not visible to others; educational—learning disabilities may occur with Lyme disease affecting the brain and overall health of individuals.

• Hide-and-Seek: No Ticks, Please is a story to help parents, educators, and medical personnel discuss the risks of ticks, how ticks transmit bacteria, steps to prevent contact with ticks, and how to remove a tick properly if it does become attached.