Beware of Ticks

Some of us never come in contact with ticks, at least that we know of. But others are greatly affected.

“There is a huge tick problem here in our county, more than usual. We have a nice environment for tick-borne disease,” said Dr. Mandy Roome, Ph.D., research scientist at the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

A white-footed mouse attracts the most ticks, and ticks are always looking for somewhere to keep warm, so they are attracted to humans.

“We have Lyme disease here; we are seeing more every year. The deer ticks are prominent, but we have dog ticks that transmit Rocky Mountain Fever. Other areas are affected more than here, but it’s not uncommon here.” she said.
“It’s not only rain but dew as well. Small rodents carry it. They are the reservoirs for these infections. The primary one is the white-footed mouse,

We have the Lone Star tick that cause problems. I haven’t heard of this one up here yet but there is one in Virginia that gives you a sugar molecule the gives people an allergy so they can’t eat red meat. It’s an alpha gam allergy.

Basset’s Lyme disease testing is two tier. “The first one is an Elisa testing, sometimes we get a false positive result. If that’s positive, we do a western block to confirm; and that one will tell you for sure if you have Lyme disease,” Dr. Roome said.

The testing is not perfect. When you test for Lyme disease, it’s a small window.

“It’s called the great imitator because the symptoms are blanketed symptoms, kind of like a flu. Fever, chills, and a lot of people push it off. They think, of course I’m tired, of course I don’t feel great, I’m just tired. So they push off testing for a while. That becomes a problem,” she said.

“Other areas are doing more extensive testing and research, so hopefully, in the next few years, we will be included and can participate in this research. The CDC recommends a tick bite prophylaxis now that you can get tested right away when you have been bitten. It’s an antibody test. We are joining that effort. That’s a lot of microbiology things that we aren’t doing right now but will be doing in the future.”

The Northeast is a problem for Lyme disease and to get tested. There are five criteria to get tested: “if it’s identified as a deer tick, you have to have the tick be attached for a certain amount of time, it’s not the second the tick bites you, it has to take time to transmit Lyme. Usually it takes about 36 hours as a rule of thumb, and then start the doxycycline within 72 hours of removing the tick. If you get a high dose of doxycycline, you’ll “nip it in the bud”.

“We have quite a few cases recently. Otsego County is not unique, it’s happening everywhere. Ticks are so small now, most people don’t realize they have been bitten. If you come in to your doctor and don’t know you’ve been bitten it’s a little hard to get tested,” she said.

“You can definitely call your doctor and ask to get tested. You can talk about your outdoor activities and see what’s best for you,” Dr. Roome said

“In 2018 there was a big drop in Lyme disease. It was a pretty dry summer. Ticks need moisture. They shrivel up without rain and moisture. With Covid, people stayed inside but then outside activities started so we are now seeing a bit of an increase,” she said.

How did Dr. Roome get interested in this research?

“My mom had Lyme disease but I was young and she got better after treatment. Then in college and in grad school my advisor got Lyme disease, and that’s how I got interested in this. Controlling tick population is impossible. We need to focus on the human side and what we can do.”

“It really takes yourself or a family member to get bitten by a tick to be aware of what you can do to prevent this a check for ticks. That’s what it takes for people to be aware,” Dr. Roome said.

The best way to remove a tick is with pointy tweezers. You don’t want to squeeze to body, you want to get as close to the head of the tick. In the feeding process of ticks, the bacteria that causes Lyme hangs out in the mid-gut of the tick, so it doesn’t bite you and immediately infect you. It takes time. The last thing you want to do is squeeze a tick.”

Dr. Roome’s best advice?” “When you are going outside, long sleeves and pants are great if possible, tuck everything in. Also, use permethrin, an insecticide and repellent, and you will be 74 times less acceptable to tick bites if you just spray your shoes and pants. “I’ve collected 7,000 ticks and have only been bitten one time!” she said.

Ticks usually take their time before they decide to bite you. “Do a tick check. If you have been outside, come home, change your clothes and throw them in the dryer. That will kill them. Ticks survive the washing machine, so make sure you dry your clothes.

There are many people in our area that have Lyme disease and have had to deal with it. “I’ve been dealing with this for so many years,” Brenda Michaels said. ‘The Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) just got a new CEO who came from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, she is creating more research for tick-borne illnesses. Locally there isn’t a lot of help for Lyme disease, I suggest going to the Reinbeck area. Insurance companies don’t want to pay for treatment of Lyme disease, it’s a lot of money out of pocket.”

Ms. Michaels suggested holistic and herbal products. “Green Dragon Botanicals out of Vermont focuses on Lyme disease products. They have herbs that are specifically for Lyme disease and it’s very economical.”

“Lyme is out of control everywhere, and we are under-reported here. We need to play catch up with the treatment, it’s not being addressed. We are way behind. It’s causing people to have early Alzheimer’s, strokes and dementia when they are young. It causes inflammation in your brain. It needs to be diagnosed and caught early, it’s the key to life, just like catching cancer early,” Ms. Michaels said.

Key to prevention is always having bug spray on. “Permethrin spray is key, spray it all over your clothes and your children’s clothes. It’s the only way to keep ticks away.”

“I didn’t know I had Lyme for many years. I did a symptoms checker online and had 80% of the symptoms. I had no rash or signs of a bite, but I had other things like brain fog. If you get the flu in the summer it’s probably Lyme Disease and you should get checked,” Ms. Michaels said. “Just be aware.”