The report below was produced a retired teacher who was a member of the Center for Disease Control Lyme Disease Task Force in her town
The Facts About Lyme Disease
People in New Jersey need to be educated about the sources of Lyme Disease and the simple precautions they can follow to avoid it.
A few years ago, an extensive 3-year study about Lyme Disease in NJ was done by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and published in Lancet, the prestigious British Medical Journal.
(STAR-LEDGER)
"The single most significant carrier of Lyme Disease lurks not in deep dark forests, but in parks, on farms and even in the tall grass of suburban backyards. That carrier - the one most likely to bring Lyme-infected ticks in contact with human beings -is not the white-tailed deer, but the white-footed mouse according to doctors at UMDNJ. There is a misconception among most people that deer are the culprit. But no; it's really the mice."
(Dr Steven E Schutzer, a UMDNJ Allergy and Immunology specialist led the research team.)
(USA Today)"People think since they don't see a deer path or footprints they'll sit down and have a picnic and may unwittingly be placing themselves in the midst of prime mouse (and tick) territory.�
To test the theory, Dr. Schutzer and other New Jersey researchers staked out areas of countryside and measured the number of ticks per square foot. The study found that areas of high suitability for mice had an average of 108.8 ticks per 100 square feet, whereas areas marked by less vegetation and open ground had an average of only 4.6 ticks per 100 square feet.
The reason? Mice need dense ground cover to feel secure. "Mice have three principal requirements to inhabit an area: variety of food nearby water, and ground cover, which is extremely important for protection, whereas open space is dangerous."
The favorite habitat of the deer tick is actually the coats of mice: where mice congregate, so will the ticks that transmit Lyme disease.
Please remember this rule of thumb: "when you can see the bare ground from a standing height, the area is not favorable for mice and you should not find signs of mice inhabitation or tick abundance. "
The report also stated that while deer and mice can both serve as hosts on which ticks harmlessly feed, only the mice can transmit the Lyme disease bacteria to ticks.
According to a 1994 Lyme Disease Foundation update, there is NO SUCH tick as a �deer� tick.
The name "deer tick" is a misnomer to begin with. These ticks can also be found on 49 bird species, and at least 30 species of mammal, including chipmunks, grey squirrels, voles, foxes, rabbits, and opossums, and even certain reptiles.
In fact, the Lyme Disease organism (Borrelia burgdorferi) is vectored principally by a hard tick, Ixodes dammini, which is commonly found on the Deer Mouse, (Peromyscus maniculatus). (This is most likely how the name "deer" tick began.)
Experts say being able to recognize areas where mice may flourish is important because few people actually follow pubic health recommendations to tuck pants into socks and wear long sleeves while working or playing in their own backyards. (Dr Edward M. Bosler. Director of field studies for Lyme disease and Emerging Pathogens at the State University of New York-Stony Brook.)
It turns out that ever-adaptable white-footed mice find themselves at home in lawns and hedges. Mice and ticks often hide in plants such as pachysandra and ivy and mulched areas.
And in a forest fragmented by development, these locations have the added benefit to mice of being mostly free of predators, like foxes and weasels, who require larger blocks of woodland as their hunting grounds.
Dr. Rick Ostfeld, an ecologist in Millbrook, NY, said that a reduction in biodiversity limits other animals that the ticks may feed on. Therefore, if we kill off other wildlife such as deer or foxes, the ticks will then feed mostly on mice, increasing their chances to become infected with Borrelia. Also cases of Lyme increase when there are no deer to attract the ticks and the ticks therefore land on people.
Speaking of low-lying vegetation�..
In areas in the Mendhams where the deer ate the low-lying vegetation, the CDC researchers could not find ticks. The mice left because there was no ground cover! On CDC researcher said, �The deer are doing our job for us.�
(The Head of Infectious Diseases at Morristown Memorial Hospital said, �It�s not the deer!� Most doctors don�t realize this. At another meeting, A CDC employee said, �We can�t target the deer for Lyme.�)
It is also important to realize that not every tick is infected, and that transmission of the spirochete requires a long attachment to the body. Researchers have indicated that a full feeding is 48 hours for a nymph and up to a week for an adult tick. Even then, the risk only approaches 50%.
Only 1 �5 % of identified tick bites result in Lyme Disease.
It has also been discovered that infected ticks seems to cluster in areas and prevalence estimates may be misleading if they are based on a particular cluster.
It is also interesting that moisture is an important factor in determining tick population. (Dr. Thomas Mather at the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector-Borne Diseases.)
And, please remember that Ticks do not jump, fly, or drop from trees. You must come into direct contact with them by brushing against something that has a tick on it.
Prevention begins with you!
� Avoid tick habitats, particularly in the spring, summer, and fall. (Moist, shady environments, especially areas with leaf litter and low-lying vegetation in woody, brushy, or overgrown grassy habitat.)
� If hiking on trails, stay in the center of paths. Avoid shortcuts through heavily wooded, tick-infested areas.
� Avoid sitting on the ground in tick-infested areas.
� Modify the environment around your home. Cut your lawn and prune overhanging vegetation to allow in plenty of sunlight. Remove leaf litter and plant debris regularly. Allow grass to dry thoroughly between watering. Move shrubbery and overgrowth farther away from areas frequented by people.
� Wear a hat, long pants and long-sleeved shirts to minimize skin exposure to ticks.
� Tuck your pants into your socks.
� Wear closed shoes/sneakers rather than open sandals.
� Wear light-colored, tightly woven clothing. Ticks can be spotted more easily and removed before becoming attached. Smooth materials such as windbreakers are harder for ticks to grab onto than knits.
� Use tick and insect repellents containing DEET (for clothing and/or skin) or Permethrin (for clothing only). Apply according to the manufacturer's directions and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines to reduce the possibility of toxicity Do not use on children under 3 years of age.
� Perform a tick check and remove ticks promptly. Visually check clothing and skin. Be sure to check the scalp, behind and in the ears, and behind any joints.
� Parents must continually remind children to stay out of areas of dense vegetation and piles of leaves. Parent must remind children of proper wearing apparel. Parent should perform daily tick checks on the children.
� Check your pets for ticks and remove immediately (Pets can carry ticks inside � especially those who walk or run freely outside). Check especially under the abdomen and around ears and on the chest.
� Treat your pets monthly with Frontline or a similar product. This product is applied between your pet's shoulder blades and kills ticks without injuring your pet. Dogs can get Lyme Disease. Veterinarians can successfully treat pets with Lyme Disease, but it is up to the caring owner to make the appointment with the veterinarian if the pet shows symptoms.
� If symptoms arise contact a physician immediately. Symptoms include a bull's eye rash, flu-like Symptoms or painful joints.
If people suspect a tick bite, they are usually treated first with only 2 Doxycycline pills and are advised to wait for symptoms.
Q: Is there a safe way to remove a tick?
Yes, there is a safe way to remove a tick. 1) Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close as possible to the skin. 2) Pull straight out slowly with a steady motion and be patient; don�t hurry. 3) Wash site thoroughly with soap and water when the tick has been removed. 4) Apply a topical antiseptic.
Q: What should I NOT do when removing a tick?
DO NOT 1) Burn the tick; DO NOT 2) Smother it with petroleum jelly or a noxious chemical; DO NOT 3)Crush the tick with your fingers. These methods increase your risk of Lyme Disease.
According to a publication from Morristown Memorial Hospital, Lyme disease acquired the nickname �The Great Imitator� because oftentimes its symptoms mimic other illnesses, making diagnosis difficult.
And, visa versa. In fact, many people made ill by aspartame (NutraSweet) first thought they had Lyme disease, but they did not.
Articles show that of hundreds of people diagnosed with Lyme, up to 80% were, in fact, misdiagnosed.
Dr. Leonard H. Sigal, a Lyme disease expert at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in New Brunswick, said "Lyme disease, although a problem, is not nearly as big a problem as most people think."
"The bigger epidemic," Dr. Sigal said, "is Lyme anxiety."
Although a small group of doctors and patients insist that symptoms like fatigue and memory loss after a bout with Lyme disease are due to chronic infection with the disease organism. those symptoms are very common among the general public, leading Dr. Shapiro (Yale) and others to believe there is some other cause.
'Whatever is going on with these patients," he said, "if it is unresponsive to antibiotics, it is
unlikely that it is untreated Lyme disease."