TICK MENACE
Three types of ticks are causing increasing woe for geologists and other venturers into the brushlands. The ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, a nameless affliction carried by the pajaroello tick, and a new one carried by the One Star tick called Ehrlichiosis.
There appears to be no way to eradicate ticks, short of eradicating the deer and mouse population. Experts recommend long pants tucked into socks or boots while walking in tall grass and brush. Once indoors they advise inspecting the skin for dark presences - tick inspections.
LYME DISEASE
Lyme disease was first identified in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. It has spread along the eastern seaboard, into Wisconsin and Minnesota, Texas, Oregon, and northern California. It is carried by a tiny tick found on mice and deer and probably spread by birds. It is far smaller than the familiar California deer tick that may carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and it is especially difficult to spot in its tiny nymph stage.
Within 30 days after a bite, the typical human victim develops a distinctive rash, consisting of a bump surrounded by a gradually spreading red zone like a bull's eye. It may be accompanied by a flulike fever, stiff neck, and malaise. It may act like a lingering, persistent cold. These symptoms may disappear only to be followed by heart palpitations and headaches. In a later stage of Lyme disease, the joints, especially the knees, commonly become inflamed similar to rheumatoid arthritis. If untreated, up to 20 percent of Lyme disease victims are in for serious trouble. Heart rhythm abnormalities may require implantation of an electronic pacemaker. Neurological effects may occur, accompanied by excruciating pain and facial paralysis. Patients may complain of a short-term memory loss, and victims may develop chronic arthritis.
Fortunately, Lyme disease can be treated effectively with antibiotics, especially amoxicillin, tetracycline, or penicillin, given intravenously every day for 30 days. Some doctors recommend antibiotics as a preventative after any tick bite, but there isn't any evidence that early treatment works. Unfortunately, in about 30 percent of cases there is no warning rash, so the disease goes untreated until serious symptoms develop.
Only one questionable case of Lyme disease has been reported in Santa Barbara County, and a few in San Diego County. The disease is spreading, however, and few California doctors are really familiar with it.
PAJAROELLO
The pajaroello tick is about 4 mm long, mottled gray, and has a hard leathery back. It inhabits brushy slopes, particularly oak duff and deer beds. It was first described in Mexico where it is more feared than the rattlesnake. Now it infests the Coast Ranges of central California and has been found in the mountains around Saugus, Malibu, and in the Sespe area. Its bite is very dangerous and may be fatal.
After the tick bites, it drops off. The a slight prickling sensation develops, followed from 6 to 24 hours later by a severe itching. The bite oozes serum and a dark circle forms around the bite. Then the bite area becomes a running sore for a 4 to 5 week period with a high danger of infection, and the entire area will rot out.
The best antidote is to SEE A DOCTOR - soon. So far no deaths have been reported from pajaroello bites in California, but many persons have been severely affected. The bite is definitely toxic, and some persons are more allergic to it than others. Repeated bites increase the allergic reaction, even though the spacing between bites may be months or possibly years.
What the Web has to say:
Beyond Lyme
Online advice from TIME health columnist Christine Gorman
"There's something about ticks that drives even the most well-balanced among us a bit nutty. They're too small to feel when they're crawling on your skin. They pack their own anesthetic, so you don't realize they're burying their heads in your body. And they suck your blood for hours at a stretch. Besides grossing you out, ticks may carry certain bacteria that can make you very, very sick, as thousands of folks in the Northeast and Midwest who have developed Lyme disease can tell you. But Lyme disease isn't the only or even the deadliest tick-borne infection. Ever since 1986, when the first cases cropped up in the U.S., researchers have been keeping a watchful eye on a debilitating and sometimes fatal flu-like ailment called Ehrlichiosis. The infection is transmitted by the Lone Star tick in the southern half of the U.S. and the ever present deer tick in the north. It was once thought to afflict only dogs and horses, but four strains of bacteria that affect people have been identified in the past decade. Last week came word that a fifth strain, called Ehrlichia ewingii, which is particularly common among dogs in Missouri, can cause illness in their masters as well. The new bacterium was identified in four patients as well as two of their dogs by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "We don't think the dogs gave the infection to the people directly [through licks or bites]," says Dr. Gregory Storch, an infectious-disease specialist who led the study. "We think both pets and patients were innocent victims."
"What's particularly worrisome about Ehrlichiosis is that it's not easy to spot. There's no telltale rash, as occurs in Lyme disease. Nor is there an easy test for it. Doctors must rely on such circumstantial evidence as a low level of white blood cells and abnormal spots on those cells. And an antibiotic commonly prescribed for Lyme disease--amoxicillin--is useless for treating Ehrlichiosis. Fortunately, there's another drug, doxycycline, that does the trick. Left untreated, however, severe cases of the infection can kill in a few days.
"Does this mean you should never walk in the woods again? Absolutely not. But a few precautions are in order. Tuck your pants into your socks, spray deet on your clothes and stay away from the grassy, overgrown areas favored by ticks. Also, be sure to check your body and your kids' bodies at least once a day. Since it takes as long as 24 hours for bacteria to get from the tick into your bloodstream, it pays to remove ticks as soon as you can. Don't try holding a burnt match to the tick to make it back out. Apart from scorching yourself, you'll just provoke it into regurgitating its potentially toxic baggage into your body. Instead, take a pair of tweezers, line them up alongside the tick's body and as close to your skin as you can and gently pull out the tick. Be sure not to squeeze or crush the tick, as that can force its insides into your body as well. After the tick is out, wash the area of the bite with antiseptic, and place the tick in a plastic container marked with the date in case your doctor needs to test it later to confirm a diagnosis. Most important, don't delay getting medical help if you develop a fever or rash. Both Ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease are easily cured if caught right away."