This engorged tick, collected in Annapolis, Maryland is likely a female adult deer tick, or Ixodes scapularis. Deer ticks are also called blacklegged ticks and can transmit the pathogens that cause tickborne diseases such babesiosis and Lyme disease. Credit: NIAID (Photo by: IMAGE POINT FR/NIH/NIAID/BSIP //Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Tick-borne diseases and ED visits for them are the highest they’ve been in a decade, according to reports from the CDC. As Americans spend more time outdoors, illnesses such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome are increasing in both frequency and geographic spread. Here’s what you need to know about tick-borne diseases.
Warmer temperatures and milder winters allow ticks to survive in regions that were previously too cold for them. Longer warm seasons also mean ticks remain active for more months in the year, increasing opportunities for human exposure. As an example, rising temperatures have allowed the American dog tick, which is responsible for transmitting Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, to survive and cause disease in higher latitudes like Canada, although it is primarily endemic in parts of southeastern and south-central America.
Changes in land and suburban expansion have also contributed to greater tick exposure for humans. As communities expand into wooded areas, people are coming into contact more often with deer, mice and wildlife that serve as hosts for ticks.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, with nearly half a million patients treated every year for it in America. Caused by the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi, it spreads primarily when the blacklegged deer tick bites a human and then transmits the bacteria through its saliva. The tick usually needs to stay attached to a human for about 1-2 days before causing any symptoms.
Symptoms for Lyme disease include fever, fatigues, headache, muscle aches and a characteristic “bull’s-eye” rash. The disease is usually treated with doxycycline, an antibiotic. If left untreated, Lyme disease can progress to cause facial paralysis, heart rhythm abnormalities, arthritis and other serious complications.
Another serious tick-borne illness is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, caused by the bacteria Rickettsia Rickettsii and transmitted by several ticks, but most commonly the American dog tick. Symptoms typically begin suddenly with fever, severe headache, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting. A red rash can also develop later, but is not present in all patients. This disease can become fatal quickly, with up to 25% of patients dying, according to the CDC. The fatality rate is precisely why it is critical to treat this disease as early as possible, which is also treated with the same antibiotic as Lyme disease, doxycycline.
An increasingly recognized condition that can be caused by a tick bite is alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction associated with the bite of the lone star tick in the United States. In this condition, the tick introduces a sugar molecule in its saliva called alpha-gal into the human body upon biting, which can trigger an immune response in some individuals. Patients may then develop an allergy to red meat products such as beef, pork and lamb. They can also develop allergies to some dairy products and gelatin.
Symptoms can be mild to severe and range from nausea, itching, abdominal pain, swelling of the lips to life-threatening symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Although there is no cure for alpha-gal syndrome, avoiding red meat and dairy products and using an epinephrine injection as an emergency could be necessary when life-threatening symptoms occur.
The best way to prevent these types of diseases is avoid exposures to ticks. When spending time outdoors in wooded, grassy areas, wearing long sleeve shirts and pants and using EPA approved insect repellents containing DEET or picaridin can significantly prevent tick exposures. Treating clothing with permethrin cream and also provide an added layer of protection.
In addition, after returning indoors, performing a full-body tick check can also allow for visualization of a tick should one be present. Parents and individuals should closely inspect pubic areas, the armpits and the base of the neck for any ticks. If found, the tick should be removed using fine-tipped tweezers. Finally, showering within two hours of coming indoors can help wash away any unattached ticks.
As tick populations continue to expand across America, awareness and prevention remain our most powerful tools to avoid the detrimental health risks they pose.
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