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Although the weather has been cooler than usual this time of year, we’ve still managed to spend some amount of time outdoors, gardening, hiking, biking, and walking our pups. Every year, when spring rolls around and we all get outside, the topic of conversation eventually turns to tick season. With all the goodness that spring promises, we also have the downside of ticks.  

That’s why so many healthcare organizations devote the month of May to Lyme Disease Awareness Month. Tis the season for raising awareness, educating the public on the importance of preventing tick bites, recognizing symptoms, and learning what to do if we find a tick. With activity rising during warm weather seasons, many organizations are promoting “fighting the bite” campaigns to prevent infection, which can cause serious, long-term health issues if untreated.

“One tick bite is all it takes to change a life,” according to Global Lyme Alliance— a nonprofit dedicated to conquering Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, “Lyme disease, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, is a multi-staged, multi-systemic illness. It can manifest in acute (early stage) and chronic (late stage or persisting) forms. Contracted through the bite of an infected black-legged tick, Lyme disease affects everyone, with an estimated 900 new cases daily.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites that in 2023, there were more than 89,000 cases reported to the CDC by state health departments and the District of Columbia. This number reflects cases reported through routine national surveillance, which is only one way that public health officials track diseases. Recent estimates using other methods suggest that approximately 476,000 people may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year in the U.S. This number likely includes patients who are treated based on clinical suspicion but do not actually have Lyme disease. 

Playing it safe

Since we’ll be spending more time outside in the months ahead, let’s be smart, we can stay safe and healthy. It’s important to know that the deer ticks that transmit Lyme disease are very small. They are the size of a pinhead and are very difficult to see. 

The John Hopkins Medicine Lyme Disease Research Center advises people to take these measures when outdoors.

Wear protective clothing that is treated with tick pesticides (such as permethrin) and treat your skin with a tick repellent such as DEET. When hiking or walking, always stay on marked trails and out of tall grass and leaf litter. Perform daily tick checks especially after coming in from the outdoors. After being outside, place clothes in the dryer on high heat for 15 minutes. This kills ticks by rapidly dehydrating them. 

Create a tick-free zone around your house. Start by keeping your lawn well-manicured. Other ideas include adding a deer fence to protect your garden, creating a tick barrier between the lawn and taller grasses or brush, and eliminating mouse habitats.

If you happen to find a tick, immediately remove it by grasping it with a tweezer and pulling it straight off the skin without twisting. Pull by the head, which is the part closest to the body, rather than the belly. Wash the bite site with soap and water and apply rubbing alcohol or antiseptic.  If a rash appears, take a photo, write down the date, and track your symptoms. Call or visit your doctor immediately.

Symptoms to watch for…

A tick bite may look like a tiny, itchy bump or a mosquito bite. This doesn’t mean you have a tick-borne disease. Many people will not even notice that they’ve had a tick bite. According to Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of Lyme disease vary. They usually show up in stages, but the stages can overlap with one another. Early symptoms usually occur within 3 to 30 days after a tick bite. This stage of disease has a limited set of symptoms. Some people don’t have symptoms of the typical early stage.

A rash is a common sign of Lyme disease, but it doesn’t always occur. When it does, it’s usually a single circle that slowly spreads from the site of the tick bite. It may become clear in the center and look like a target or bull’s-eye. The rash often feels warm to the touch and it’s usually not painful or itchy. Other Stage 1 symptoms include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, joint stiffness, muscle aches and pains, and swollen lymph nodes.

The Mayo Clinic cites that Stage 2 symptoms may include Stage 1 symptoms as well as rashes on other parts of the body; neck pain or stiffness; muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face; immune-system activity in heart tissue that causes irregular heartbeats; and pain that starts from the back and hips and spreads to the legs. Other symptoms include pain, numbness or weakness in the hands or feet; painful swelling in the tissues of the eye or eyelid; and immune-system activity in eye nerves that causes pain or vision loss.

During the third stage, symptoms may be present from the earlier stages, but other symptoms may be present as well. This stage is called late disseminated disease. In the U.S., the most common condition of this stage is arthritis in large joints, particularly the knees. Pain, swelling or stiffness may last for a long time, or the symptoms may come and go. Stage 3 symptoms usually begin 2 to 12 months after a tick bite.

Most people who get Lyme disease don’t remember having a tick bite, and many symptoms of Lyme disease relate to other conditions. If you have Lyme disease symptoms, see your healthcare professional. An early diagnosis and proper treatment can improve outcomes. If you know you had a tick bite or might have been around ticks, watch for symptoms. If they show up, see your healthcare professional as soon as possible.

Tick Identification Source

The Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory specializes in tick-borne pathogen detection; its lab tests ticks for 16 pathogens (including Lyme) to track disease spread and provide data to the public. The Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory is affiliated with SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and is housed within the SUNY Center for Vector-Borne Diseases & Upstate Global Health Institute. To access its tick submission form, visit: redcap.upstate.edu/surveys/?s=RLDPJ7MJP7. For more, visit: nyticks.org

Making the Connection: Lyme, Connecticut 

Some history: According to the American Lyme Disease Foundation, the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) is dedicated to research on plant and large animal diseases that are likely to have a significant economic impact on the livestock and agricultural industries. Because of its isolation from the main land mass and stringent containment facilities, it is ideally suited for this type of work. 

In 1952, the disease center was managed by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps as a component of its biological warfare program. However, when the program was abolished by a Presidential directive in 1969, it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its present use.

Some claim that Lyme disease was introduced into the northeastern region of the U.S. by a man-made strain of Borrelia burgdorferi that escaped from a high containment biological warfare laboratory on Plum Island. However, there is ample evidence to indicate that both Ixodes ticks and B. burgdorferi were present in the U.S. well before the Plum Island facility was ever established. 

An examination of museum specimens of Ixodes ticks showed that the presence of Lyme disease spirochetes in suitable arthropod vectors preceded — by at least a generation — the year (1982) when Lyme disease was first recognized as a distinct clinical entity in the U.S. 

More recent studies revealed that Ixodes ticks and B. burgdorferi were present in the northeastern and Midwestern regions of the U.S. in pre-colonial times and many thousands of years before European settlements were established in the U.S. Lyme disease certainly existed in the U.S. long before anyone knew how to diagnose and treat it.