Syracuse, N.Y. -- New York state will launch a multi-pronged control plan for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that state agencies will expand tick-control programs, widen efforts to educate people about tick-borne diseases, and even develop better tests for the diseases, which are difficult to diagnose.

"Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are a major threat to the health and well-being of New Yorkers, and we are taking aggressive actions to help stop the spread of these disease," Cuomo said in a news release.

Elements of the plan include:

• Application of eco-friendly tick control treatments in parks in the regions with the highest tick disease problems: the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and Southern Tier.
• Expansion of the "tickicide" deer treatment feeding stations that help to control ticks spread by white-tailed deer. When the deer feed, treated rollers rub against their body.
• Expansion of the Tick Control System, a small box that attracts rodents and coats their fur with a pesticide that kills ticks.
• A public information campaign targeting high-risk groups such as hunters, trappers and hikers.
• Making available information about tick collections across the state and the prevalence of Lyme and other diseases found in those ticks.
• Development of a more accurate diagnostic test for tick-borne disease, including Lyme disease.
• A summit this summer to bring together state agencies to review what the state is doing and how it can improve.

Article re-posted from NewYorkUpState.com. By Glenn Coin