Download What is a Tick? - Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Ticks and
Lyme Disease
What’s the connection?
What do I need to know?
Committed to making Lyme disease
easy to diagnose and simple to cure
bayarealyme.org
Photograph: Ervic Aquino
What is a Tick?
• Ticks are not insects, they are arachnids
(Spiders are also arachnids).
• Ticks are external parasites that live off
of the blood of other animals – mostly
small mammals, birds, reptiles and
amphibians.
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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The lifecycle of a tick is
2 years long!
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is an infection
that can be contracted through
a tick bite.
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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Visual sign of Lyme Disease:
• Expanding rash (bull’s-eye)
3-30 days following tick bite*
• Round, oval, triangular,
irregular shaped rash
• Rash is not normally itchy or
painful
Bull’s-eye rash
This rash may be confused with allergic reactions to tick bites.
(However, allergic reactions occur within 24 hours of the bite
and they do not spread)
*The rash does not appear on everyone who has been
exposed to Lyme disease—it’s only 43-70% of cases.
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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Other signs of Lyme disease:
•
Within days of exposure:
•
•
•
Flu-like symptoms—fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain,
headache, swollen lymph nodes
Within weeks to months of exposure:
•
Musculo-skeletal: arthritis in one or more joints
•
Nervous system problems: Bell’s Palsy, numbness, tingling, or pain
in the arms and legs
•
Heart problems (<10%): disturbances in the heart rhythm
Within months to years of exposure:
•
Musculo-skeletal: severe joint pain & swelling (60% of patients)
•
Neurologic complaints: shooting pains, numbness, tingling,
problems with short-term memory
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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How common is Lyme disease?
Reported Cases of Lyme Disease by Year,
United States, 1995-2013
Number of CDC-Reported Cases
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
CDC-Estimated Total Diagnosed Cases
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http://www.bayarealyme.org/our-research/ecology-lyme-disease/
How common is Lyme disease in
California?
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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Eisen et al. 2006 Am J Trop Med Hyg
How to avoid Lyme disease…
• Check for ticks every day
• Ticks can be very small—so feel for bumps (especially on the
scalp)
• Ticks like certain parts of the body: groin, armpits, around the
waistband, backs of knees, naval, neck and ears (be sure to
check those areas)
• When hiking, walk in the middle of the trail
• Avoid bushes, grasses, leaf piles, logs and tree trunks
• Wear light-colored clothing covering ankles and wrists
• Ticks crawl UP, so tuck pants into socks
• Consider treating clothing with insect repellent
• If you find a tick on you, stay calm and find an adult!
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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Our Hero: The Western Fence Lizard!
There are proteins in the blood of this lizard that kill the Borrelia
burgdorferi bacteria! The proteins in the blood of the lizard are
like a neutralizing agent and the bacteria is unable to survive
This means that
this lizard could
help stop the
spread of Lyme
disease!
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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What to do if you get bitten:
•
•
Find an adult immediately to help you!
Using fine point/needle nose tweezers, grasp the
tick as close to the skin as possible (do NOT use
wide/square ended tweezers).
•
Gently pull the tick straight out, using a firm
steady motion.
•
Wash your hands and the bite site with soap and
water. Apply an antiseptic to the bite site.
•
Prompt tick removal can prevent transmission of
infection.
•
DON’T USE matches/lighters etc.
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/121-a120/
© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation
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