LITTLE ROCK — Outdoors lovers should always keep a lookout for those tiny critters that can cause big problems.
Ticks, often smaller than a millimeter, are waiting on low-growing plants to latch onto a passer-by. The host may be an animal, but a tick also can secure itself to a person’s clothes and eventually find its way to the skin. From there, it cuts into the skin’s surface and begins to feed.
There’s no pain or itching, because ticks secrete small amounts of saliva with anesthetic properties, so that a person or animal can’t feel its presence. The saliva also can carry pathogens that cause spotted fever disease (a grouping that include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), ehrlichiosis, tularemia and other illnesses, which could lead to hospitalization if not promptly treated.
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 1,129 confirmed or probable cases of tick-induced illnesses in 2015, up seven cases from 2014. Spotted fever made up 79.3 percent of the 2015 tick-borne disease cases, and ehrlichiosis accounted for 17 percent. Tularemia and anaplasmosis made up the remaining 3.7 percent of cases.
The Health Department reported 16 deaths have been caused by tick-borne disease in Arkansas since 2012.
Arkansans should be most concerned with the American dog tick, the blacklegged tick (commonly called the “deer tick”), the brown dog tick, the Gulf Coast tick and the lone star tick.
The American dog tick is most responsible for the spread of spotted fever.
The blacklegged tick can transmit organisms responsible for anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease. In some regions, particularly in the southern United States, the blacklegged tick has different feeding habits that make it an unlikely to cause human disease.
“While we don’t identify Lyme as a predominant disease in Arkansas, we do have some of the country’s highest levels of tick-borne diseases, and you need to prevent tick bites all the time,” said Dr. Susan Weinstein, the state public health veterinarian. “Ticks are serious and carry serious diseases. We do have the highest level of tularemia. We are one of the highest for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. So, there really is cause for concern.”
A 2014 report authored by Weinstein and Richard Taffner, the department’s zoonotic disease epidemiologist, also revealed that 41 percent of all the state’s reported cases of tick-borne disease that year originated in Northwest Arkansas.
More cases were reported in May, June and July than other months, but August and September topped 120 reported cases, and October and November figures were significant.
Weinstein suggests hunters take precautions before a tick gets in a bite by using permethrin sprays tand tucking pants legs inside socks and boots.
Tick removal
Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If the mouth cannot be easily removed with clean tweezers, leave it alone.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and wash hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.