Cole County Health Department

This Page Contains information about Tick Borne Diseases & Information on the West Nile Virus	For information on the West Nile Virus. Click Here	For Information on Tick Borne Disease. Click Here
	Electronic Book Link

Tick-Borne Disease Claims

Season’s First Victim

A tick-borne disease has claimed the life of a 74-year-old St. Louis-area man.  

Laboratory analysis showed that the man was infected with bacteria that cause a disease called Ehrlichiosis. The case was one of nine cases of tick-borne disease recently confirmed by laboratory testing and reported to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. In 2008, Cole County had 3 "Confirmed" or "Probable" cases.

Ehrlichiosis, a disease similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, can cause symptoms ranging from a mild, flu-like infection to a serious illness with potentially life-threatening complications, including kidney failure and difficultly breathing. People should consider contacting their health care provider if symptoms develop following exposure to ticks. The key symptoms to watch for after a tick bite are a fever and severe headache, sometimes with chills, body aches, nausea, or vomiting.

 Simple protective measures are effective in preventing tick bites. People should consistently use insect repellents with 20 percent to 50 percent DEET. Keep pets and livestock tick-free. When coming in from outdoors, people should check themselves, children and pets for ticks, even after spending time in one’s own yard. 

TIPS

•  Avoid tick-infested areas!  Walk in the center of trails to avoid ticks on brush. Ticks can be active   even on winter days when the ground temperature is 45 ⁰ Fahrenheit and above.

• Dress properly! Light-colored clothing helps you spot ticks more easily.   Wear long pants and long sleeves and tuck the shirt into your pants and the pants into your socks to keep ticks on the outside of your clothes and off your skin.

• Use insect repellent! Repellants discourage tick attachment.  You must read the product label to find out how long the formula will last. Repellents containing DEET can be applied to the skin and clothing, but will last only a few hours before reapplication is necessary.  Repellents containing permethrin can be sprayed on boots and clothing, and will last for several days. Do not apply permethrin directly to skin, and always follow label directions when using any repellant. 

• Do Tick Checks! When you’re outdoors, even in your own yard, check yourself, children and other family members every two to three hours for ticks.  Do this by looking at their clothes and by running your fingers over scalp and skin, looking for small bumps or new “moles”. Don't forget your hair, ears, and underarms.  At night, use a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body. 

• Remove attached ticks immediately! It is rare for a tick to infect someone until it has been attached for more than four hours.  Use fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick around its mouthparts, at the place of attachment next to the skin.  Slowly pull the tick away from the skin until the tick is removed. Place the tick in a sealed container or small plastic bag and deposit in the trash.  After removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water.  If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, contact your health care provider immediately.

• Tweezers or Tick Removal Tools – Don’t Leave Home Without Them! A study from Ohio State University suggests that commercial tick removal tools are very effective for removing adult ticks, although the deeply attached mouthparts of the Lone Star Ticks sometimes were not completely removed.  Another study from this laboratory tested several popular "folk" methods (fingernail polish, petroleum jelly, a glowing hot match, and rubbing alcohol) for their ability to induce ticks to "back out" or release from the host.  Not one of these techniques initiated tick self-detachment in adult lone star or American dog ticks!

 For more information click below:

Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS)

http://www.dhss.mo.gov/TicksCarryDisease/

CDC

 http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html

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Electronic Book: The Summer the Town Bit Back. Click on image to open book link.

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West Nile Virus (WNV)

 In 2008, Missouri reported 16 "confirmed" and "probable" human WNV disease cases, the lowest yearly count since human infections were first identified in the state in 2002.  In 2008 no "Confirmed" or "Probable" cases were reported in Cole County.

 Most often, WNV is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then spread WNV to humans and other animals when they bite.  

Approximately 80 percent of people who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Serious symptoms occur in about one in 150 people infected with WNV. Medical care should be sought as soon as possible for persons who develop symptoms suggesting severe illness.

 When dealing with West Nile virus, prevention is your best bet. Fighting mosquito bites reduces your risk of getting this disease, along with others that mosquitoes can carry. To reduce your risk:

• Apply Insect Repellent Containing DEET
• When possible, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or DEET will give extra protection.
• Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours- The hours from dusk to dawn are peak mosquito biting times for many species. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing during evening and early morning – or consider outdoor activities during these times.

TIPS

• Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing or slow-moving water, like ditches or storm waterretention basins. Unattended weeds, tall grass, and bushes can provide adult mosquitoes withhiding places. They can enter homes through unscreened windows or doors, or broken screens. Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace all screensthat have tears or holes.

• Remove waste or old tires from your property.

• Dispose of tin cans, discarded toys, plastic containers, empty ceramic pots, or similarwater-holding containers.

• Make sure roof gutters drain properly. Clean clogged gutters in the spring and fall.

• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas, and hot tubs. If not in use, keepempty and covered. Drain water from pool and boat covers.

• Redesign landscapes that do not promote good air circulation and water drainage.

• Change the water in stock tanks and birdbaths every 3 to 4 days.

• Turn over plastic wading pools, wheelbarrows, and canoes when not in use.

• Seek out standing water that may be hiding on your property or in your neighborhood.

• Help neighbors -- especially older neighbors -- remove breeding sites on their properties.

• Some garden or hardware centers carry a product that contains a larvicide --Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI)-- for use in areas of standing water around the home. More importantly, however, homeowners and renters should eliminate standingwater around the home to reduce breeding sites for mosquitoes -- direct handling of larvicides may cause skin and eye irritation. If these products are purchased for home use, public healthofficials recommend careful reading of the hazards label, directions for use, and detailsregarding storage and handling.

• For more information about the prevention of West Nile virus and mosquitoes, contact the Cole County Health Department or visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' website at www.dhss.state.mo.us/WestNileVirus/ .

Adapted from materials developed by the New York City and Springfield - Greene (Missouri) County Depts. of Health.

 For more information Visit the Following Links

Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS)

Prevention Information for the Public

CDC

www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factsheet.htm

 

This Page Contains information about Tick Borne Diseases & Information on the West Nile Virus

For information on the West Nile Virus. Click Here

For Information on Tick Borne Disease. Click Here

 

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