Deer Parasite Project Your Help Is Needed!

From: MICHAEL SKVARLA <mxs1578@psu.edu> Date: August 21, 2018 at 11:06:08 AM EDT Subject: Deer parasite project I am leading a research project at Penn State focused on deer parasites, specifically ticks and deer keds (a type of fly), which may transmit disease to deer and hunters. We’re recruiting deer hunters to submit specimens they collect from deer and have free sampling kits available for the first 500 who pre-order them. I would really appreciate it if you could share the information below with your club membership, perhaps via email or newsletter or even mentioning it at your next club meeting. I've also attached a brochure we made for the project and more information is available on the project website, PAParasiteHunters.com. Best regards, Michael Skvarla Insect Identifier, Penn State University Blacklegged ticks are perhaps the best-known external parasite of deer in Pennsylvania as they aggressively bite people and can transmit the pathogens that cause Lyme and other diseases. However, ticks aren’t the only deer-associated parasites that bite humans. Deer keds, which are a kind of parasitic fly, can be more abundant than ticks on individual deer and are often confused with ticks due to their superficial resemblance. Deer keds have historically been considered a minor nuisance due to their bites but of no serious medical concern. However, a number of recent studies have isolated various pathogens from keds using DNA sequencing. It is not know yet whether the keds are simply picking the pathogens up when they feed on infected hosts or whether they can actively transmit the disease agents. As a result, the Penn State Insect Identification Laboratory and the Penn State Veterinary Entomology Laboratory have teamed up to develop a volunteer project to learn more about keds in Pennsylvania. Hunters are requested to send in specimens of both ticks and keds collected from harvested deer. Free parasite collection kits – which contain a louse comb for combing through deer hair for ked specimens, vials with preservative, and postage-paid return envelopes – are available to request through the project website, www.PAParasiteHunters.com. Hunters without such kits can collect keds and ticks into hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol and send the specimens in liquid-tight containers (such as a pill vial) in ziplock bags to the PSU Insect Identification Laboratory at the address below. We also ask that the following information be included with the parasites: name (optional), date of collection, collection locality (county at minimum, township or closest city preferred; we don’t need to know where your secret hunting spot is), and if the parasites were collected on the deer or the hunter. Additional details about deer keds, including life history and photographs; identification; how to avoid keds and ticks, including precautions to take before and after hunting; and how collect and submit samples are available on the project website, www.PAParasiteHunters.com. Mail inquiries and samples can be directed to the following address: Attn: Ked research project Insect Identification Laboratory 501 Agricultural Science & Industries Building University Park, PA, 16802 ----------------------------------------- Michael Skvarla, Ph.D. Insect Identifier and Extension Educator Department of Entomology Penn State University

Rabies, coyotes and ticks, oh my! Perils abound in the backyard this summer

By Linda Wilson Fuoco / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Heidi Meyers watched in horror as a coyote near her rural Washington County home chased her 14-pound miniature dachshund, Rusty, who ran as fast as he could with his tail between his legs.

“The coyote got within 3 feet of Rusty and seemed to hesitate because I was screaming,” Ms. Meyers said. “I ran toward the coyote before it backed off ” and ran away. 

Coyotes, deer, hawks, raccoons and other wildlife are out there, along with insects and other creatures large and small. In spring and summer, people and their pets are outdoors more, increasing the chance of close and sometimes dangerous encounters.

In suburban and urban settings, wildlife is bountiful and becoming increasingly accustomed to living near humans and domesticated animals. Wild animals lose their fear of people and have begun to encroach on backyards. 

Tips for a safe summer outdoors

Here are tips from experts on how you and your pets can deal with wild animals, insect diseases and other outdoor summertime dangers:

• Coyotes: Yell, stomp your feet, shake a jacket or noisemaker, pop an umbrella, flash a flashlight or toss a rock; www.urbancoyoteproject.com.

• Rabid animals: When picking up a dead animal for testing, wear gloves, use a shovel to pick it up, put it in a box and double bag it. For testing: 412-687-2243.

• Fawns: Keep pets and children away from young deer because does are aggressively protective.

• Ticks, fleas on pets: Pet owners should consult their veterinarian about the wide array of products and prescriptions. DEET is a recommended insect repellent.

• Lyme disease: Many vets recommend a yearly blood test to check for Lyme disease because it can be difficult to see tiny ticks.

• No pets unattended: This rule is a good protection against deer and hawks and also is a safeguard against raccoons and groundhogs that can be aggressive when sick with distemper.

• Deer feces: It’s smelly and unattractive but generally not lethal if eaten by pets.

• Ticks on people: Remove ticks immediately, check clothing and skin, take a shower and wash and dry clothing. Wear light-colored clothes to more easily see the blacklegged ticks. Wear a hat to keep ticks out of hair. Tuck socks into shoes or boots. Outdoor clothing should be treated with permethrin, a synthetic chemical that repels insects.

The attraction is the food humans provide, such as plants in gardens and yards, leftovers tossed into garbage cans and bowls of pet food left outdoors and feeder stations.

Deer have kicked and stomped dogs. They pose danger by jumping through glass windows of homes, businesses and offices and they leave piles of feces that often are eaten by pets.

Hawks have attacked small dogs; coyotes kill and eat small mammals, and they’re a threat to cats and small pets.

But perhaps the most dangerous outdoor threat is posed by the blacklegged tick, suggests Tom Fazi, education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission southwest region.
Ticks, which are classified as arachnids, along with spiders and scorpions, have four pairs of legs and carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria that cause Lyme disease in humans and dogs.

The ticks start at the size of a pencil point, said Bill Todaro, entomologist at the Allegheny County Health Department. As adults engorged with blood, they grow to the size of a sesame seed.

“Blacklegged ticks are in every county in Pennsylvania,” Mr. Todaro said. “Twenty years ago that was not true. Thirty to 60 percent of the ticks are now infected with the borrelia bacteria.”

The tiny creatures are sometimes called “deer ticks,” but that’s a bit of a misnomer. In the course of their lives, blacklegged ticks live and feed off a number of animals, including mice. They move on to larger animals, including deer, in the later stages of their lives.

A blood test confirmed that Mr. Fazi’s English setter had Lyme disease, though the dog had not shown any symptoms. Mr. Fazi’s dog was treated with antibiotics.

Ms. Meyers has three miniature dachshunds and she never lets them off leash on her 20-acre homestead. She has a good reason.

About three years after the scare with Rusty, she heard a growl in her yard where her three dogs were playing. About 20 yards from the house, she spotted a coyote a few feet away from Sydney, a 9-pound miniature dachshund. Once again, she screamed and the coyote ran.
Rusty’s coyote encounter was in the spring and Sydney’s was in late summer. Both were during the day, which caught Ms. Meyers off guard because her research showed that coyotes are most likely to hunt at dawn and dusk.

While the dachshund incidents were in a rural setting, Deborah Miller-Gurchak, who lives in a suburban Peters neighborhood, has seen two coyotes regularly in her yard and driveway.

“One ran right at me. It was frightening,” she said. “I’ve seen them very close to the house, staring at the windows.”

Ms. Miller-Gurchak has changed the way she cares for her four Shetland sheepdogs, each weighing 20-35 pounds. They’re never unattended in the yard. A professional dog trainer, she advises friends and clients to adopt the same policy.

Her family and neighbors scare coyotes away from their houses with loud noises such as those made by fog horns and by banging pots and pans together.

Coyotes are thought to be in every county in Pennsylvania, according to the game commission, including cities and densely populated suburbs.

In southwest Pennsylvania, there are occasional reports of coyotes killing small calves and young lambs, but Mr. Fazi says his office has no reports of pets being killed. However, as Ms. Meyers noted, there is no central reporting center that collects data on pets that are chased, attacked, injured or killed.

In Pennsylvania, coyotes can be hunted and trapped all year, but a state license is required to do so. Many local communities have laws that would prohibit discharging firearms. 

“Coyotes are smart and you really have to know your stuff” to shoot or trap one, Mr. Fazi said.
Deer and hawks also can pose dangers.

In the spring, does bed down their fawns and often leave them alone in yards for hours while they forage for food, said Paul D. Curtis, a wildlife biologist/ecologist and professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

“Last summer I had a fawn 15 feet from my door,” he said.

Several years ago, three dogs were chased and kicked or stomped by does in the Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon areas, according to the emergency room staff at VCA Castle Shannon Animal Hospital.

In January, a 4-pound Yorkshire terrier in its backyard was picked up by a red-tailed hawk. When the owner screamed, the hawk dropped the dog some 15 feet to the ground. 

Does sometimes attack dogs that they think are threatening their fawns, Mr. Curtis said.

Deer running through windows are another matter. They’re usually bucks, Mr. Curtis said. “We think they see their reflection, think it’s another buck, so they attack.” Sometimes they’re just confused, like a buck that recently wandered close to a building on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y.

“It ran into a bunch of people and it turned and bolted,” Mr. Curtis said. “Their eyesight isn’t that good and it ran through a window.”

It happens once or twice a year, on the campus that is home to about 100 wild deer. Mr. Curtis is called because he has a rifle with tranquilizer darts and he knows how to use them.

What deer leave behind also can be a hazard. Feces is smelly and is an unattractive nuisance, but whether it is harmful if eaten by dogs and other pets remains to be determined. Justin Brown, who has a doctorate in veterinary pathology, said more research is needed. Mr. Brown is a wildlife veterinarian for the state game commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management.

Deer and other wildlife often have intestinal parasites or what some would call “worms.” The worms and their larvae can be excreted in feces, but dogs, cats and people will not get worms from the feces of deer and other wildlife, he said. 

Another common summer concern is rabies.

The Allegheny County Health Department tested 819 dead animals for rabies in 2014 and found 14 that had the disease.  Of the 217 animals checked for rabies so far this year, three tested positive, said Sharon Silvestri, chief of the health department’s infectious disease program.

It “varies widely” whether local police departments or animal control agencies are willing and able to help with a potentially rabid animal, she said, especially if the animal is alive and acting aggressively.

Linda Wilson Fuoco is  the Post-Gazette’s Pet Tales columnist. lfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1953.

Love Spring Weather? Ticks Do, Too

Game Commission urges outdoors enthusiasts to take precautions to prevent Lyme disease.

           A gorgeous spring day simply shouldn't be wasted indoors.

           But enjoying the state’s scenic beauty and plethora of outdoor recreational opportunities comes with its risks.
           Pennsylvania leads the nation in confirmed cases of Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness that poses a serious human health risk that is heightened for those who spend more time outdoors.|
           So when heading outside to enjoy those perfect days, outdoors enthusiasts should remember that taking a few simple precautions can greatly reduce the risk of picking up ticks that might carry Lyme disease.
About Lyme disease           Lyme disease is a chronic illness transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and joint pain, and in about 85 percent of cases, a bull’s-eye rash will appear around the bite.
           When detected early, Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, the disease can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system.
           Early diagnosis is important in preventing late-stage complications. Classic signs of untreated cases can include migratory pain or arthritis, impaired motor and sensory skills and an enlarged heart.
           Pennsylvania has led the nation in confirmed cases of Lyme disease for three straight years. While Lyme disease has been found in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, the highest incidence of the disease is in the southeastern part of the state.
           The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,981 cases of Lyme disease in Pennsylvania in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available. That’s an increase from the 4,146 cases confirmed in the Commonwealth in 2012, but still lower than the 4,739 confirmed cases in 2011.
           The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently launched “Don’t Let a Tick Make You Sick,” a campaign aimed at raising Lyme-disease awareness in the Commonwealth.

 Avoiding ticks

Hunters, hikers, anglers and others spending time outdoors are among the most likely to pick up the ticks that carry Lyme disease because they spend hours upon hours in the state’s fields and forest.

Most pick up ticks by brushing against vegetation, or by sitting in one position for lengthy periods.

Hunters and trappers who handle game also are susceptible.

People can reduce their risk of contracting Lyme disease by using insect repellent, preferably one containing DEET, and using it as directed by the manufacturer. Tick repellent or repelling collars also are important for pets. Dogs can contract Lyme disease, and all pets can carry ticks indoors where they might come in contact with you.

Tucking in your shirt, tucking your pants legs into your socks, or wearing pants with leg tie-offs improve the chances a tick won’t be able to make it onto your body in the first place.

Long pants and long-sleeved shirts do a better job of sealing out ticks, and ticks can be spotted more easily on light-colored clothing.

Another strategy is to avoid contact with the dense bushes and tall grass that are among the places where ticks live.

 

Checking for and removing ticks

Because ticks can live just about anywhere, and like to latch onto people and pets, everyone who spends time outdoors should check themselves for ticks once back inside. Children who have been playing outside should be checked for ticks by their parents or guardians.

Store clothes worn outdoors in a container until they can be washed to reduce the chances a tick will get loose in the house. Use a mirror in inspecting yourself for ticks. Ticks like tight places, and often are found in the armpits and along the beltline.

Taking a hot shower within two hours of returning from the field also can have a big impact on decreasing Lyme disease risk, and could even prevent transmission.

If you find a tick on your body, or on a child or pet, it’s recommended the tick be removed carefully with a set of fine-tipped tweezers. Removing ticks with your bare hands should be avoided, and when using tweezers, you can protect your fingers with a tissue, paper towel, or medical gloves.

Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.

If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.

After removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible – not waiting for it to detach.

Anyone bitten by a tick should watch the area where the tick was attached for the next month or so. If a rash develops at the site from which the tick was removed, or elsewhere on the body, consult a physician.

 

Deer and deer ticks

While the blacklegged tick also is called the deer tick, and adult female blacklegged ticks feed preferentially on deer in autumn to build up energy to lay eggs, deer are dead-end hosts for the Lyme disease bacteria.

They do not infect ticks with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease nor do they contract the disease when an infected tick feeds on them. They play no direct role in the transmission cycle.

White-footed mice and chipmunks are the primary reservoirs for Lyme disease transmission, and many wild birds and mammals in North America have been found with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Domestic animals including dogs, cats, cattle and horses also can become infected.

The blacklegged tick is the primary vector for Lyme disease, but other tick species and biting insects such as mosquitoes, deer flies and horse flies also can carry the bacteria, though it remains unclear how readily they transmit the bacteria to new hosts.

While deer do not transmit the disease, they still might carry infected ticks, and landowners can take a few precautions to help keep deer and ticks away from homes.

Ticks can be discouraged through yardwork to maintain vegetation around homes, and homeowners can help keep deer from their yards by not feeding them, constructing physical barriers to discourage them or putting in deer-resistant plants.

Bait boxes that treat wild rodents with acaricide, an insecticide that kills ticks, also are available for home use. Properly used, these boxes have been shown to reduce ticks around homes by more than 50 percent. The treatment is similar to control fleas and ticks on pets.

 

How the Game Commission is helping

Each year, the Game Commission uses controlled burns to improve wildlife habitat on state game lands throughout Pennsylvania. More than 5,000 acres under the Game Commission’s control were treated with this method in 2014.

While fire is prescribed to regenerate grasses and restore young forests, another benefit is the effective immediate removal of ticks from the areas that are burned.

A study by the Game Commission on one tract of state game lands showed an 88 percent reduction in the blacklegged tick population following prescribed fire, and the population remained lower there in the few years following the burn.

Because prescribed fire is a productive and cost-effective tool for managing wildlife habitat, the Game Commission will continue with burns at additional tracts each year. 

“Springtime in Pennsylvania is a thing of beauty, and there are plenty of chances to get out there and enjoy it in any number of ways,” said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough. “Our nearly 1.5 million-acre system of state game lands and the about 2.2 million acres of private land managed by the Game Commission offer some of the best hunting, fishing and hiking opportunities available in the Commonwealth. But it’s important those who enjoy the beauty of Penn’s Woods also remain aware of the Lyme-disease risks associated with spending time outdoors.

“Take the time to take precautions that prevent ticks from hitching a ride home, and always thoroughly check for ticks when you return from the outdoors,” Hough said. “By following these few simple steps, you can help to ensure that the rest of your days afield will be enjoyable.”

Of Bills, Ticks, Outdoor Apps

By Bob Frye Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Observations on a few things outdoors …

• There was a time when opponents of any move to legalize Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania would point to sportsmen and say they couldn't agree among themselves whether it was a good idea.

That was true enough. Hunters often split 50-50 on the issue.

But at the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs' spring convention, delegates were polled on 10 already-introduced or likely-coming pieces of legislation. One was a bill Lackawanna County Rep. Frank Farina has been circulating among his fellow lawmakers for cosponsors. It would give the Pennsylvania Game Commission the authority to decide when and if to include Sundays in seasons.

Federation delegates voted 80-17 with four abstentions to support the coming bill.

That's a huge change from past years and might be a sign the tide has turned.

• Federation delegates also voted to support three other House Bills: No. 223, which would permit the use of semiautomatic rifles in .223-caliber or smaller for hunting fox, coyotes and groundhogs; No. 263, which would give the commission the authority to allow air rifles for hunting; and No. 231, which would allow the commission, and not county treasurers, to sell doe tags.

Rejected by a 98-2 vote was Senate Bill 374, which would require hunters to report killing a deer within 24 hours instead of the current 10 days. The concern was it would leave hunters who kill a deer from a camp with no phone or Internet no way to comply short of going home.

• If it seems like ticks are everywhere these days, they officially are.

Last week, Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection announced that blacklegged, or deer, ticks have been confirmed in all 67 state counties. The same research found that the ticks have become imbedded in Western Pennsylvania in recent years, “though the prevalence rate of Lyme disease still remains relatively lower than the rest of the state.”

There were no ticks and no Lyme Disease here as recently as the 1960s, the report said.

• The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission launched a free new app, and the Game Commission is working to develop two by fall.

On the Fish side, the FishBoatPA app identifies things like which streams have been stocked with trout, how to get to those waters and what other access areas are nearby. There's a Fish ID feature, along with a section for sharing photos.

It's available on Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store.

On the Game side, one app will allow a hunter to pick the species he wants to hunt, then identify state game lands managed especially for it, said Mark Neissner, manager of the commission's GIS section. It also will identify early successional habitat on game lands, broken down as being 0-5, 6-10 and 11-15 years old, he said.

Another app will show pheasant stocking locations, identifying not just the game lands that get birds but also specifically where they're released via what Neissner called “broad circles.”

Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bfrye@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobfryeoutdoors.

Ticks reduce moose population in northern states

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — Sportsmen hoping to bag a big moose are seeing increased competition from a tiny parasite that's cutting down moose populations in New England and across parts of the northern United States, prompting some states to offer hunters fewer permits or halt hunting altogether.

Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are all issuing fewer moose hunting permits this year, citing the impact of winter ticks on their moose populations. In Minnesota, where ticks are among several factors that have cut the population by more than half in less than a decade, there will be no moose hunting season at all.

Thousands of ticks are sometimes found on a moose, and the parasites can bleed the animals and cause anemia and death.

“It's really that they bleed them dry,” said Lee Kantar, Maine's moose biologist.

Maine's moose season kicks off Monday, but the state is coming off a peak year for winter ticks, which have helped reduce the moose herd from 76,000 in 2012 to between 65,000 and 70,000, state officials said.

Maine reduced its number of moose permits from 4,110 in 2013 to 3,095 this year for a season in which more than 50,000 people, a typical number, applied for a permit. New Hampshire officials issued 124 permits — fewer than half of the 275 awarded in recent years — for the state's October season in the face of a decline in moose population from 7,600 in 1996 to about 4,400 now.

In Vermont, the moose population is estimated around 2,500, below the state's ideal range of 3,000 to 5,000. The state's moose herd topped out in 2008, when the state issued 1,255 hunting permits. This year it has issued 285, 70 fewer than a year ago, for its October hunt.

Minnesota's moose population, which suffers from predators and disease, has plummeted from 8,840 in 2006 to 2,760, according to state data. The state suspended hunting last year and is in the midst of a multi-year research initiative into possible methods to slow the decline.

The ticks occur in all North American moose populations except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Alaska and far northern Canada, said Alberta-based biologist Bill Samuel, who added that the ticks are the “most important external pest of moose in North America.”

Many biologists tie the surge in tick-related moose deaths at least in part to warmer temperatures. Warm fall temperatures and early spring snowmelt improves conditions for winter ticks to thrive, biologists say. Samuel said more ticks survive to lay eggs when the early spring temperature is warm and the ground snow-free.

Lyme Disease Infects 300,000 A Year, CDC Says

Maggie Fox NBC News

Lyme disease is a “tremendous” public health problem, infecting 10 times more Americans than reports have suggested, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.
New estimates suggest that 300,000 people are infected with the tickborne illness every year.

“This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States, and clearly highlights the urgent need for prevention,” says Dr. Paul Mead, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program, based in Ft Collins, Colo.

“We know that routine surveillance only gives us part of the picture, and that the true number of illnesses is much greater,” Mead added in a statement.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, carried by blacklegged ticks. Infection causes fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. The infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system if it’s not treated.

More than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to CDC every year, making it the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States, the CDC says. But some reports have suggested it is far more common than that.

Mead and colleagues looked at several sources, including medical billing records of 22 million people, a 2008 survey of laboratories processing blood tests and a survey of patients asking if they ever had Lyme disease. Taken together, the data indicate that 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year, Mead’s team told the International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and other Tick Borne Diseases being held in Boston this week.

“Not everyone diagnosed or treated for Lyme disease is necessarily infected with Borrelia burgdorferi,” they wrote in a summary submitted to the conference. “Nevertheless, these results are consistent with earlier estimates that Lyme disease cases are underreported by a factor of three- to 12-fold.”

Treatment can be as simple as a single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline or it can involve a three-week to one-month course of antibiotics, depending on how long it takes to diagnose after infection. Infectious disease experts disagree on whether longer courses of treatment are helpful. Up to 20 percent of patients have long-term symptoms, the CDC says.

Lyme disease is most common in the Northeast and Midwest but cases have been reported from all 50 states. It has a complex life cycle involving mice and deer, and it’s usually the small, immature ticks, found on rodents, that are to blame for infecting people.

“That’s why it’s important to carefully check your body and clothing for ticks after being outdoors in woody and grassy areas. If you see a tick, you can lessen the chance of infection by removing it from your body early, even if it’s already begun to feed,” the National Institutes of Health advises.

There used to be a vaccine, but its maker stopped manufacturing it because too few people asked for it. The CDC recommends using an insect repellent that contains DEET, careful checking for ticks after being outdoors, and staying out of bushy, wooded areas.

“We know people can prevent tick bites through steps like using repellents and tick checks. Although these measures are effective, they aren’t fail-proof and people don’t always use them,” the CDC’s Dr. Lyle Petersen said in a statement. “We need to move to a broader approach to tick reduction, involving entire communities, to combat this public health problem.”

This might include killing ticks in back yards, control of rodents that carry the Lyme disease bacteria, and suburban planning involving deer and their interaction with people. Deer carry adult ticks that can carry the disease.

Ticks, Lyme disease warrant caution but not panic during summer

Bob Frye, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Dr. William Hope (left) visits with Brandon Kniha, of
North Huntingdon, and his dog Cole on July 5, 2013, at
Hope Veterinary Hospital in West Newton.

These are different times for William Hope.

A veterinarian at Hope Veterinary Clinic in West Newton, he has seen new technologies become a part of medicine, new vaccines hit the market and new generations of patients. But it's something else that really stands out.

That's the prevalence of ticks.

“When I started this practice I never saw a tick,” said Hope, who began his career in the 1970s. “I didn't know a dog tick from a deer tick. I didn't have to play with them then.

“Now, literally, I see them almost every day.” Especially at this time of year. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the months of April through July are prime time for ticks in the nymphal stage to look for new hosts — i.e. you and your hunting dog — to latch on to.

Whether that's just irritating or something worse can vary.

Some ticks, though not all, carry Lyme disease, an inflammatory disease that most typically causes a bull's-eye rash that's followed by fevers, chills, headaches, muscle aches and joint pain. Get bit by a tick that latches on to your skin and goes undetected for a period of two days or so, and you can contract Lyme disease.

Bull's Eye rash from Lyme Disease

About 20,000 to 30,000 people contract the disease annually, according to the National Centers for Disease Control. Confirmed cases of Lyme have ranged from a low of 19,804 in 2004 to a high of 29,959 in 2009.

About 96 percent of all cases nationally were confined to 13 states in 2011. Pennsylvania was one of those, and actually had the most cases, with 4,739.

A couple of southeastern Pennsylvania counties are worst for the disease. Chester, Bucks and Montgomery counties had 759, 586 and 415, respectively, in 2011, the most recent year for which final statistics are available.

Locally, the disease appears in a hit-and-miss, almost random way.

There were 52 cases of Lyme disease in Armstrong County in 2009, according to the Department of Health. That rose to 73 cases in 2010 and 146 in 2011. In Butler County, cases totaled 189 in 2009, dropped to 152 in 2010 and rose to 224 in 2011.

In Indiana cases have gone from 19 to 34 to 78, and in Westmoreland from 13 to 15 to 44, over that same time.

In Allegheny County, though, the number of cases has actually gone down over time, from 27 in 2009 to 18 in 2010 to fewer than three last year. Neither Somerset nor Fayette counties have ever had more than four cases reported in a year's time. Greene County hasn't had a single reported case in the last three years.

“It can vary from even valley to valley in my experience,” Hope said. “Ticks might be bad in Sutersville but not in West Newton. They might be bad in Donora but not in Webster.”

Of course, none of that matters if you're the one person to contract Lyme, or if your favorite hunting dog gets it.

That's why “prevention is key,” said Kait Gillis, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

“As the weather becomes nicer, residents spend more time outdoors and don't wear layers and layers of clothing — leaving them open to be being bitten by an infected tick,” she said.

Outdoors people — hunters, anglers, hikers, campers and the like — are among the highest risk groups for getting bitten by a tick and contracting Lyme, simply because of where they go to play.

But that doesn't mean you should be afraid to go outside, or worry incessantly while outdoors, said Phillip Baker, executive director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation.

“If you go into the outdoors a lot, it is something to consider. But there's no need to panic,” Baker said.

Even if you do get bitten by an infected tick, it has to remain attached to you for 36 to 48 hours to spread the disease, he said.

“It's not like if you don't get the tick out right away all is lost. Forget that,” Baker said.

If caught in its early stages, the disease is easily combated with oral antibiotics, he added.

Still, it makes sense to minimize your risk when outdoors. Apply repellents with DEET — the same kind you would use to keep mosquitoes at bay — to your skin when going outside, Baker said. Spray products containing permethrin on your clothes. Wear long sleeves and pants.

Do a full-body check to look for ticks after a day afield, Gillis added.

Do all those things, but don't shy away from getting outdoors because of fear about ticks.

“There's a lot of hysteria out there, a lot of hooey,” Baker said. “But people who live in areas with a lot of Lyme disease still do just fine.”

2013 Could Be A Big Year For Lyme Disease In Western Pennsylvania

By Scott Shalaway, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

If personal experience and reader reports are reliable indicators, this summer could be a bad one for ticks and Lyme disease in Western Pennsylvania. Since early April, I've removed countless ticks from my clothing. Likewise, I've heard from many readers since late winter who have returned from hunting trips with dogs covered with ticks.
Effective tick prevention medications for dogs are readily available from veterinarians. I can't remember the last time I removed an attached tick from my dog.
We humans, on the other hand, must be more proactive and check for ticks after every outdoor adventure. Fortunately, blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis, formerly called deer ticks) must be attached for at least 24 to 48 hours for the Lyme disease bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) to be transmitted.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. In 2011, there were 4,739 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania and 24,364 nationwide. Though Lyme disease can be prevented by vaccination, it is prohibitively expensive and less than 100 percent effective.
The best treatment for Lyme disease is prevention. Avoid tall grass and dense woody vegetation. Wear a 20 to 30 percent DEET-based repellent on clothes and exposed skin. Or wear clothing treated with long-lasting tick repellents. Tuck pant legs into socks and wrap in duct tape. Do frequent tick checks, even while in your own backyard.
If you find an attached tick, here's advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov). Do not squeeze the tick and pull it out with your fingers. This will only force possibly contaminated blood into the bite site.
Instead, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. If the mouthparts break off, remove them with the tweezers.
Then clean the area with rubbing alcohol and soap and water.
If a few days later, you find a telltale bull's-eye rash or develop symptoms such as chills, fever, headache, achy muscles, swollen lymph nodes and/or fatigue, see a physician.