Watch out for these guys. Ticks will latch onto you and infect you with diseases.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Director of Public Health Gina Armstrong is urging people to take precautions to avoid ticks.
Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses peak between May and July, Armstrong said, and residents should be aware of the symptoms and what to do to protect themselves.
Residents in New England should get in the habit of checking themselves often for the parasite and to wear long sleeves and pants when in the woods.
"It is changing habits and people have a hard time with that," Armstrong said while giving a presentation to the City Council's Health and Safety Subcommittee. "It is a small change and if people can just embrace it as a new habit for themselves and their families they can really avoid the stress of what can be a real serious disease."
Deer ticks the size of poppy seeds cause Lyme disease, Armstrong said, and early symptoms include fatigue, fevers and chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. At the spot of the bite, there is often a red, circular spot.
Armstrong said anyone suspecting infection should contact his or her doctor. Sometimes, the symptoms don't show up until weeks, months, or even years later.
Armstrong said according to recent surveys, one-fifth of the population doesn't know the risks ticks pose. Lyme disease can cause nervous system abnormalities, irregular hearth rhythms, arthritis, and facial paralysis. Lyme is the most notable tick-borne illness and just around 75 people have reported suspected cases in the city in recent years. However, Armstrong said the actual occurrences could be 10 times that because the reporting isn't mandatory. In 2013, there were 99 suspected or confirmed cases in Berkshire County.
"It is reported voluntarily. Since it isn't mandatory, the numbers are lower than you'd expect," Armstrong said, adding the health officials estimate significantly more cases are out there than reported. "It could be estimated between 375 and 750 cases. The data is really not that useful."
She said residents should check themselves for ticks after being outside because it takes 24 hours of the insect arachnid being attached — likely to heads, neck, and ears where the skin is thinner — to a host to infect them with the disease. If one is found attached, she recommends pulling it out with tweezers and then saving it to send to the laboratory to be tested. Armstrong also said to mark a calendar of the date in case symptoms don't start until later.
Beyond Lyme disease, Armstrong said the prevalence of tick-borne illness anaplasmosis has been increasing. There is also Rocky Mountain spotted fever that is spread by the ticks.
Ticks can be transmitted through other animals as well. To protect properties, she recommend removing dead litter, tall brushes and grass, keeping wild animals away, and placing a three-foot barrier of wood chips between wooded areas and the lawn.
Armstrong says avid gardeners may want to purchase tick repellent clothing.
"A lot of people are unaware of the particulars. They may generally understand that ticks are a bad thing and they may generally understand to check. But, theses details are vitally important," said Ward 6 Councilor John Krol, who asked for the report. "It is an increasing issue. The presence of ticks are really coming east. ... We are right in the heart of it and it doesn't seem like it is going away."
Educating the public is one aspect Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi said he'd like to increase. He also encouraged residents to call the Board of Health to report overgrown grass so the health inspectors can start the process of getting it mowed.
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