RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — You, a member of your family or your pet may bring an unwelcome guest home on your next picnic or other outing — a tick capable of carrying bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, when Cattaraugus County Public Health Director Dr. Kevin D. Watkins typically urges residents to take steps to prevent themselves from tick bites.
At Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting, Watkins said that 159 cases of Lyme disease had been diagnosed in county residents last year.
Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a
characteristic “bulls-eye” skin rash. Treatment consists of taking an antibiotic orally within two days of exposure. Complications can lead to arthritis that begins with Lyme disease and doesn’t improve, body aches and pains, constant or frequent tiredness and memory complaints.
The black-legged tick, or deer tick, that can carry the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is widely present across Cattaraugus County and the Northeast. The ticks are carried by deer and mice.
Watkins urged residents to protect themselves, their families and pets from ticks that can be found in woods or grassy areas or your backyard. The ticks are often found in low-growing vegetation and cling to clothing as humans pass by. They are blind and cannot jump, he added.
To prevent getting bitten by a tick, Watkins said to spray shoes and pants with a repellent that includes 0.5% permethrin. An insect repellent with DEET can be used on exposed skin except the face to feter the ticks. Wearing light-colored clothing can aid in spotting ticks before they can attach themselves, Watkins said.
Even after taking precautions, it is a good idea to check yourself for ticks when returning home after being outside where you could be exposed to ticks, Watkins said.
On the head, be sure to check around the hair and ears. Also, check under arms and around the waist, including the belly button. Below the waist, check between the legs, in back of the knees and between toes.
If you do find a tick, you can use fine tipped tweezers to gently remove it by grasping it behind the head, not the body. The location of some ticks may require someone else to remove it — including an emergency room physician or physician’s assistant.
Watkins reviewed data from the New York State Health Department of tick activity last year at six public outdoor locations across the county. Watkins emphasized that the data only provides some tick information at a precise time and location.
The sites were dragged with a cloth to collect ticks from nymphs to adults. More than half of the adult ticks checked in the fall carried the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
Deer Lick Nature Preserve — 65 ticks were collected and 40% of the 50 black legged tick nymphs tested positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme in disease July and August 2024. The October collection of adults found 104 ticks and 52% 50 that were tested were positive.
Pfeiffer Nature Center (Lillibridge) — 33 nymph ticks were collected and 36% were positive for Lyme in June and July. There were 53 adult ticks collected in October and 52% of 50 were positive.
Pfeiffer Nature Center (Eshelman) — 64 nymphs were in June and July and 38% of 50 that were tested were positive for Lyme. In October, 4 adult ticks were collected and 75% were positive.
Gargoyle Park — 69 nymphs were collected and 24% of 50 tested were positive. There were 176 adult ticks collected in October and 68% of the 50 that were tested were positive for Lyme.
Allegany State Park — There were 22 nymph ticks collected in June and July and 23% were positive for Lyme. There were 67 adult ticks collected in October and 72% of the 50 that were tested were positive for Lyme.
Zoar Valley — No nymphs were collected in June and July. In October, 56 adult ticks were collected and 58% of the 50 that were tested were positive for Lyme.
Drug companies are working on Lyme disease vaccines and have begun human trials, Watkins said. Three companies, Pfizer, Valneva and Moderna have indicated they will seek FDA approval for their vaccines this year, he said.
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
