Spring, the Ticks are Back

From CDC

The black legged tick  also known as the deer tick responsible for infection with Lyme disease goes through four life stages: egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph, and adult. After hatching from the eggs, ticks must eat blood at every stage to survive. Most ticks go through all these life stages and can take up to 3 years to complete their full life cycle, requiring a host at each stage for feeding on blood. Ticks can pass infections from one host to the next. Ticks are arachnids, relatives of spiders and live in wooded areas, brushy fields, and around your home. Though ticks are most active during the warmer months, adult ticks may be out searching for a host when winter temperatures are above freezing.

The black legged tick, Borrelia bugdorferi from CDC

The black legged tick is not the only tick to worry about, there are other ticks that carry disease. In addition, there are other diseases carried by ticks. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, reports 10 other groups of diseases spread by ticks. Ticks can carry more than one disease and Lyme disease patients are sometimes co-infected with another tick-borne disease, complicating diagnosis and treatment. Other tick borne diseases include: anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, powassan, rickettsia parkeri rickettiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, STARI, tickborne relapsing fever, tularemeia, 364D Rickettsiosis. These diseases cause everything from chills, rash, fever and flu like symptoms to kidney failure and even death. Co-infection can make diagnosis trickier and may call for different treatment. There is still much we do not know about tick borne illnesses and the bacteria that cause disease continue to evolve developing resistance to treatment.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi through the bite of infected black legged ticks (also called the deer tick). Early symptoms can include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic bull’s-eye skin rash and is often mistaken for flu. The Mayo Clinic reports that with treatment with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of the disease that most people recover completely. However in some individuals and in later stages, response to treatment may be slower, but the majority of people with Lyme disease are reported to recover eventually. Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause: Chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee, neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy, cognitive defects, such as impaired memory and heart rhythm irregularities. Lyme disease is serious and to be avoided and the best way to do this is to prevent tick bites. You could completely avoid the outdoors in the warmer months of April to September or you can take precautions.

engorged black legged tick

Start with trying to avoid direct contact with ticks. Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter. During the warms months of the year apply bug repellents that contain 20% - 30% DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) on exposed skin and clothing for protection that lasts up to several hours. Before sending the kids out to play parents should apply bug repellent to their children. Use products that contain permethrin only on clothing. Treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents. It remains effective through several washings. Pre-treated clothing is available and remains protective for up to 70 washings, though some field studies indicate that treated socks should be replaced more frequently.

After playing outdoors, working in the garden or playing with pets you will need to make sure there are no ticks on your body. Remove all outdoor clothing upon entering the home. I strip in the mudroom, leaving my shoes and outdoor gear in it racks and tossing my clothes into the laundry room floor. Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs, all outdoor equipment should remain in the mud room or garage. Wash your clothes in hot water and tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks. (Some research suggests that shorter drying times may also be effective, particularly if the clothing is not wet.)

Then it’s off to the bathroom to make sure there are no ticks on your body. Start with fine combing your hair and bathe immediately to wash off and more easily find ticks that might be crawling on you. While bathing conduct a full-body tick check under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and especially in your hair. Ticks are very small as you can see in the diagram below from the CDC, be diligent.

Sargent’s and Wellmark will Cease Manufacture of Flea and Tick Products for Pets

off the market

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Inc. and Wellmark International to cease manufacturing flea and tick pet collars containing propoxur by April 1, 2015 and to cease selling the product by April 1, 2016. These flea and tick products are sold under the trade names Bansect, Sentry, Zodiac and Biospot and others. Since flea and tick collars have a shelf life of five years, be sure to read the ingredient list before buying any product.

EPA announced in their press release that this “voluntary” agreement will expedite the removal of propoxur containing products from the market, but the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a petition against the EPA in 2009 to cancel the allowed use of propoxur, a known neurotoxin and carcinogen, and tetrachlorvinphos, an organophosphate a class of chemicals that are also neurotoxins. So, expediency was not the issue for five years. NRDC filed a lawsuit against the EPA toforce the agency to respond to NRDC’s petitions to cancel all manufacturer registrations and uses of neurotoxic pesticides propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) used in popular pet flea treatment products in February 2014. EPA had already negotiated an agreement with Wellmark and Sergeant’s by January 22, 2014.

off the market

Propoxur belongs to a class of pesticides called carbamates that can cause cognitive, behavioral and motor developmental defects in children. Several studies in the research literature documented that prenatal and early- life exposure to organophosphates of which TCVP is one, can impair children’s neurological development at levels below what can cause acute symptoms of poisoning. Due to concerns that the other organophosphates products can harm children’s more vulnerable developing brains and nervous systems, the agency had already restricted household use of other known neurotoxic pesticides.

EPA completed the propoxur pet collar risk assessment showing risks to children from exposure to pet collars containing propoxur in September 2013. Although the amounts in the residue left by flea collars are smaller than the doses that cause acute human symptoms, propoxur may cause long-term health consequences. Through pet collars, children are potentially exposed to levels of propoxur that exceed the US EPA's acceptable levels, according to an NRDC study published in 2009. That study found that after three days, 100 % of pets wearing a propoxur flea collar had enough chemical on their fur to exceed the EPA's acceptable dose level for toddlers.

EPA’s recent risk assessment confirmed this result. The decision reached between EPA and Sergeant's and Wellmark to remove this flea and tick products from the market is the solution to most quickly remove the pet collars from the market. Flea and tick collars work by leaving a pesticide residue on dogs' and cats' fur, which can be transferred to people by hugging, petting or coming into contact with the pets. Some children even sleep with their pets. The major source of exposure to these chemicals is from absorption through the skin after directly touching the treated pet. Small children may ingest pesticide residues when they touch a treated cat or dog and subsequently put their hands in their mouth.

EPA’s risk assessment found, in some but not all use scenarios, unacceptable risks to children from exposure to propoxur pet collars on the first day following application. Because the manufacturers could not find a way to eliminate unacceptable risk under all scenarios, EPA “encouraged” them to cancel these products and they subsequently agreed. Propoxur will remain a registered insecticide for use to control ticks, fleas and a variety of insects in industrial, commercial and residential facilities, just no longer used for pet flea and tick collars.

Flea and tick products can be appropriate treatments for protecting pets and people because fleas and ticks can transmit disease to animals and humans. In Northern Virginia we are especially aware of the threat of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks; however, there are eleven tick borne diseases listed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Dogs are also very susceptible to tick bites and tick borne diseases. Vaccines are available for only some of the tick borne diseases that dogs can get, and they don’t keep the dogs from bringing ticks into your home, thus it is prudent to use a tick preventive product on your dog. Alternatives include newer pesticide products sprayed or spotted onto pets, such as fipronil (Frontline®) or imidacloprid (Advantage®). Particularly when used in combination with physical measures like frequent washing and combing of the pet and vacuuming carpets and furniture, can bring mild flea infestations under control. Cats are extremely sensitive to a variety of chemicals. Do not apply any insect acaricides or repellents to your cats without first consulting your veterinarian! It simply might be best and safest to keep your cat as an indoor pet.

Remember to protect yourself and your children from tick borne disease. CDC recommends protect your family from Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses by being diligent in preventing tick bites:
• Use insect repellent that contains 20 - 30% DEET on yourself and your children.
• Make children bathe or shower as soon as possible after they come indoors.
• Look for ticks on their bodies. Ticks can hide under the armpits, behind the knees, in the hair, and groin.
• Put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks.