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| Vol. 22, No. 8 |
| May 1, 2000 |
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Precautions Outdoors Help Avoid Ticks and Diseases They Carry Mild weather for months at a time means outdoor activities in Texas are often at the top of the "to do" list. Camping, hiking, backpacking, picnics or just walking outdoors highlight the spring, summer, fall and sometimes winter seasons. But warm days, especially in the spring and summer, can also bring out ticks along with the diseases they can transmit. A bite from an infected tick can cause illnesses such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and human ehrlichiosis. Ticks are especially prevalent in wooded, brushy and grassy areas; but animals also may carry ticks. Julie Rawlings of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Surveillance Division at Texas Department of Health (TDH) points to the lone star tick, common throughout the south and central United States, as one to watch for. "In Texas, this is the tick likely to carry disease," she says. While many tick species prefer attaching to an animal and staying there, this variety readily feeds on human blood. An adult lone star tick is about the size of a watermelon seed. Lyme disease, which is the most frequently diagnosed tick-borne problem in the country, is a bacterial infection that can cause skin, joint, heart and nervous system problems. Named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut where it was first described in 1976, the disease usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache, fever, stiff neck and joint pain. Occasionally there may be skin lesions or rashes, usually around the site of the tick bite. People usually are infected April through June, months when the lone star tick is most active. Treatment is with antibiotics. Untreated, Lyme disease may result in severe damage to joints, the heart and nervous system. In Texas, more than 1,680 possible cases of Lyme disease have been reported since 1990. Of those, just over 580 cases met the case definition for Lyme disease. Rawlings also notes that where studies have been conducted "about 1 to 2 percent of ticks carry the Lyme disease bacterium." Both Rocky Mountain spotted fever and human ehrlichiosis, other diseases carried by ticks, can be fatal if not treated quickly. Symptoms resemble flu with high fever, headaches and muscle aches. There also can be a measles-like rash. "The best prevention for any of these diseases is to avoid ticks," Rawlings says. She advises keeping fleas and ticks off pets - animals also can get Lyme disease - and discouraging unwanted animals such as rats, mice and stray dogs and cats around the home. To protect from ticks:
If you do find a tick on your skin, remove it right away. To remove an attached tick, use tweezers to grasp the tick at the skin surface. If tweezers are not available, use a tissue to protect fingers from possible exposure to the tick's body fluids. With a steady motion, gently pull the tick straight out. Do not crush the tick's body. Have patience; it may take time to remove the tick properly. Using petroleum jelly or touching the tick with a hot match may be common practices but are not the best procedures, Rawlings says. Live ticks may be submitted for identification and testing to the TDH Laboratory. "The ticks should be placed in a small container such as an old pill bottle with the cap tightly on," Rawlings says. "They should never be placed loose in an envelope." Call the TDH Laboratory at 512-458-7615 for information on proper ways to submit live ticks. A vaccine to protect against Lyme disease is available for people from ages 15 to 70. Contact your health care provider for more information about the vaccine. "If people have any flu-like symptoms - withor without a rash - after contact with a tick, they should get medical attention," Rawlings says. - Texas Department of Health
©2006 Texas Medical Center E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/05_01_00/page_14.html |