A CDC study says tick-borne bacterial diseases more than doubled between 2004 and 2016 -- to over 48,000 reports per year – with 82% of them related to Lyme disease.
Dr. Jonathan Larson, Extension Entomologist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says the Black-legged Tick, or deer tick -- which transmits Lyme Disease -- is not yet established in Nebraska. However, he says three Nebraska counties have reported the Black-Legged Tick, and he encourages anyone who thinks they have found one to let the Nebraska Extension Department inspect it.
“We would desperately want to see that tick, so we can update our records. That’s something we need to know about. As the climate changes, and the world changes, you never know where things are going to end up living, and we need to know when that starts happening.”
Larson says probably the number one tick-borne disease in this area is Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, which is transmitted by one of Nebraska’s most common ticks, the American Dog Tick. The CDC says Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can be deadly if not treated with the right antibiotic.
“It causes a fever and red spotty rashes that usually develop on your wrist or on your ankles and then spread on the trunk of your body. This can happen 2 to 5 days after the onset of the fever, and some people never develop a rash. This is something you need to get antibiotics for.”
Larson says the American Dog Tick and the Lone Star Tick – another tick common in this area – can both spread Tularemia, The symptoms include high fever, an ulcer at the bite site and swollen lymph nodes near the bite. It, too, can be very serious and needs to be treated with an antibiotic.
And Larson says the Lone Star Tick can transmit other diseases, including Alpha-Gal, which causes the infected person to develop an allergy to red meat. An infected person who eats red meat can have symptoms ranging from stomach cramps to anaphylaxis.
Larson recommends preventive steps like wearing Permethrin-treated clothes, using DEET-based repellants and performing a tick check when you get home from outings, especially in areas with long grasses. And he says don’t forget to check your pets and use the appropriate tick medicine on them.
For more information, the website is extension.unl.edu, or tickencounter.org