A typical Ozarks farm includes grassy pastures, wooded areas and animals ranging from livestock to deer to family pets – which makes it a perfect breeding ground for ticks. Our region has some of the highest levels of tick-borne illness in the U.S., with ticks being most active from April through September.
“We sometimes think of ticks as just a minor summertime annoyance, but tick-related illnesses are serious and can be deadly if not treated properly,” said James “Buddy” Newton, M.D., an infectious disease specialist who is director of antimicrobial stewardship at Washington Regional. “If left untreated, some tick-related infections can result in problems with the joints, the heart and the nervous system.”
Not all ticks transmit disease, but in Arkansas ticks are responsible for more human illness than any other insect. In the past two years, more than 1,600 cases of tick-borne diseases were reported to the Arkansas Department of Health, eight of them resulting in death. Because many of these illnesses go unreported, Dr. Newton points out, the actual number of persons sick from tick-related disease is probably much higher.
New tick-borne illnesses continue to be discovered. In 2009 two Missouri farmers were found to have a virus no one had ever seen before. Entomologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced the virus to ticks in northwest Missouri, near where the farmers live. Virologists have since named it the Heartland virus.
The most common tick-borne illnesses in our region include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and tularemia. Call your doctor if you develop these symptoms of tick-borne illness:
• fever
• headache
• muscle pain
• abdominal pain
• nausea
• vomiting
• rash
Dr. Newton said we can prevent many tick-related infections if we follow some simple recommendations, like these from the Arkansas Department of Health:
• Avoid tick-infested areas such as tall grass and dense vegetation.
• Tuck your pants into your socks or boots.
• Wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to find crawling ticks.
• Use products with no more than 30 percent DEET for your skin when you are in areas that could have ticks, and use permethrin on clothing and gear. Make sure to follow all directions on the bottle.
• Check yourself, your children and your pets often for ticks.
• Bathe or shower within two hours after being where ticks live to find and wash off ticks that may be crawling on you.
If a tick is attached to the skin, Dr. Newton suggested removing the tick carefully with tweezers, being careful not to press too hard. Avoid contaminating the bite area with the tick’s blood and saliva. Place the tick in a small container of rubbing alcohol to kill it. If you develop symptoms of a tick-borne illness, the tick can be analyzed in a laboratory to help in diagnosis, so it’s a good idea to keep the tick in alcohol for a few months.
Gina Brooks Maddox is the Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Washington Regional Medical System in Fayetteville, Ark.
