Concord Board of Health Unanimously Approves Two Nominations, Warns on Tick Disease

CARLISLE — May 20, 2026 — Concord Board of Health approves two nominations and flags lone star tick as new local health threat. The board voted unanimously at its May 20 meeting to appoint new Public Health Inspector Rachel Arsenal as a board agent and to nominate Public Health Director Melanie Janine as the town's commissioner on the East Middlesex Mosquito Control District, filling a vacancy created when the previous commissioner moved to Carlisle. Public Health Nurse Katie Stanislausic reported one confirmed local case of alpha gal syndrome — an allergy to red meat triggered by lone star tick bites, with reactions delayed three to eight hours — calling it "a new risk" for Concord now that the disease became reportable in Massachusetts in April. Board member Randy Crane, an emergency physician, noted the illness is largely unfamiliar to ER practitioners: "I'm just waiting for patients to show up in the ER saying I want the blood test for alpha gal." The board also reviewed its Community Health Improvement Plan, built on a needs assessment of more than 500 residents, which found 63 percent report weekly alcohol use and more than half flagged mental health as a top concern.