Tick. Tick. Tick. Lyme Disease Explosion Starts in Spring 2001


American Forces Information Service
News Articles

Tick. Tick. Tick. Lyme Disease Explosion Starts in Spring

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2001 -- Spring is here, and so is
tick season across America and in many foreign countries.
Being bitten by an infected tick can result in
debilitating, sometimes deadly, Lyme disease, military and
civilian experts warn.

Left untreated, Lyme disease can advance from early flu-
like symptoms to painful and permanent damage to the
joints, according to the National Centers for Disease
Control. The disease can also affect the nervous system,
causing numbness, pain, stiff neck and severe headache or
muscle weakness in the face or limbs. Occasionally, heart
irregularities occur.

The first stage of the disease begins three to 31 days
after the tick bites. Symptoms can include fatigue, chills
and fever, headache, muscle and joint pain or swollen lymph
nodes.

Another mark of Lyme disease, researchers said, is a
peculiar expanding circular skin rash in the areas where
the tick bite occurred. Patch shapes vary depending on
location. The rash appears mostly on the thighs, groin,
trunk and armpits, and on the faces of children.

As the patch enlarges, the center may clear, giving a ring-
like appearance. It may be warm, but isn't usually painful.
However, researchers said, some people never develop a
rash.

People can pick up ticks during walks in parks or the
woods, or while hiking and camping. Children are especially
susceptible because they run around in tall grass, play in
wooded areas and roll on the ground, researchers noted. The
individual risk of getting Lyme disease is reasonably
small. Only about 12 percent to 15 percent of ticks
actually carry the bug. Experts said removing ticks from
the body quickly may prevent a person from contracting Lyme
disease. Ticks generally must feed on a person for 24 to 48
hours before the person becomes infected.

Lyme disease experts warn field troops not to wear tick and
flea collars meant for pets. Cats and dogs don't sweat, but
people do, and harmful chemicals can get into the human
body through sweat glands.

Named after Lyme, Conn., where it surfaced in 1975, Lyme
disease has become one of the fastest-growing vector-borne
diseases in the United States. The highest incidence occurs
in the Northeast from Massachusetts to Maryland and in
Wisconsin, Minnesota, California and Oregon. A vector is a
host -- the tick, in this case -- that passes the disease
germ.

Researchers at the Armed Forces Pest Management Board note
that all military recruit training areas are infested with
ticks. CDC officials said a number of service members have
been infected in Germany over the years.

The federal Food and Drug Administration approved a Lyme
disease vaccine in December 1998 for persons ages 15 to 70.
The vaccine's effectiveness depends on getting three doses
in a year. The second dose is given a month after the first
and the third, 11 months after that and just before the
start of tick season. In other words, start now for
protection next year.

FDA officials emphasize the vaccine is not 100 percent
effective and is not a substitute for other standard
preventive measures.

The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to stay away from
places where ticks live -- tall grass and weeds, scrubby
areas, woods and leaf litter. Another good idea: Check
children and pets after they've played outside.

Service members can use a two-part DoD chemical repellent
system consisting of a permethrin-based spray for clothing
and DEET-based lotion for exposed skin. The repellents
should be coupled with proper wearing of the uniform.

If you can't avoid tick-infested areas, CDC experts suggest
you wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, tuck pant
legs into socks or boots, tuck shirt into pants, tape area
where pants and socks meet to keep ticks out, and wear
light-colored clothing so ticks can be seen easily.

After being outdoors:

o Promptly remove and wash clothing;

o Inspect your body carefully and remove attached ticks
with tweezers, grasping as close to the head as possible
and gently tugging the tick free without crushing its body.
Squeezing the tick's body may force infected fluid into the
wound;

o Place tick in sealed container for examination by a local
health department; and

o Wash the wound and apply an antiseptic.

DoD uses education to combat Lyme disease as well as other
vector-borne diseases, said officials at the Army Center for
Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine at Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Md. The center Web site provides technical
information, fact sheets and dozens of links to other pest-
and disease-control agencies and activities.

The center's address for comments, questions and requests
for educational material is:

U.S. Army CHPPM
ATTN: Entomological Sciences Program
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5403
or call DSN 584-3613 or (410)436-3613.
or visit chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/ento on the Web.

The Armed Forces Pest Management Board
Web site offers an online version of Technical
Information Memorandum 36, "Personal Protection Against
Insects and Other Arthropods of Military Importance." The
illustrated 113-page handbook is no longer available in
print.

You can obtain information from the Lyme disease electronic
mail network called LymeNet. The service is available
through the Internet at www.lymenet.org.

The following hot lines are available for public use:

Lyme Disease Foundation Inc.
1 Financial Plaza
Hartford, CT 06103-2610
or call (800) 886-LYME
or visit the Web site at www.Lyme.org.
or send e-mail to lymefnd@xxxxxxxx

American Lyme Disease Foundation Inc.
Mill Pond Offices
293 Route 100
Somers, NY 10589
or call (914) 277-6970
or visit the Web site at www.aldf.com.
or send e-mail to Inquire@xxxxxxxxx

Also, the DoD pesticide hot line can answer all kinds of
pest management questions. Call DSN 584-3773 or (410) 436-
3773.

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