With warmer weather comes the reawakening of West Virginia’s wild and wonderful beauty, from rolling hills dotted in vibrant green trees to the friendly fluttering of butterflies along blossoming trails. After a day spent enjoying this picturesque scene, however, you might find yourself in the company of less-than-welcome, disease-carrying, blood-sucking arthropods: ticks.
Following the advice of experts can leave you free of parasitic limpets and able to appreciate the outdoors without worry for yourself, children or pets.
American dog ticks, black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, and lone star ticks are the species most commonly found in West Virginia and can transmit diseases like Lyme disease or the less-common Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, ehrlichiosis, babeseiosis, anaplasmosis and tularemia. Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the state and transmitted only by the black-legged tick, but other tick-borne diseases are on the rise and expected to continue increasing with each year.
A 2021 report by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) demonstrates a clear rise in Lyme disease cases across the state over the span of just five years, from 368 in 2016 to 1,788 in 2021. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies West Virginia as one of the 15 states considered high incidence for Lyme disease.
Increased testing may contribute to these higher numbers, but climate change resulting in milder winters, human expansion into natural habitats and other factors have created an increase in human encounters with ticks and a subsequent rise in tick-borne diseases.
West Virginia University experts have suggestions for the public, whether you’re an avid outdoor enthusiast or don’t consider yourself the adventurous type, education is the key to prevention or efficient treatment.
“Personal protection is important for avoiding ticks,” said WVU Extension Entomology Specialist Carlos Quesada. “For example, wear proper clothing such as suitable footwear, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants tucked into socks, when visiting places with the likelihood of encountering ticks. Light-colored clothing helps with detecting ticks easily. Sticking to paths or designated trails also reduces encounters with ticks.”
After spending time outdoors, check yourself, children and pets thoroughly for hitchhiking arachnids. Ticks are most likely to be missed in places like underarms, groins, scalps or other crevices and otherwise overlooked areas. Showering within two hours of exposure can wash away any roaming ticks, and placing clothes in a warm dryer cycle for 10 minutes will kill any ticks clinging to fabric.
If a tick is found and removed within 24 hours of contact, transmission of disease is less likely. If a tick has been feeding for longer than 24 hours, that is often discernable from the parasite’s engorged shape. Symptoms of Lyme disease typically present within a month of exposure in the form of fever, chills, muscle and joint aches, fatigue or a rash sometimes resembling a bull’s-eye. If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause arthritis, chronic nerve pain, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, facial paralysis or an infection of the heart.
Preventative measures can decrease risks of disease, but WVU and other research facilities are working to develop a Lyme disease vaccine to tackle this public health threat more efficiently. As part of a five-year project announced in 2020, a WVU research team aims to better understand the disease, then work to develop a first-of-its-kind vaccine to prevent Lyme disease.
Until then, stay vigilant — but don’t forget to appreciate the less parasitic parts of West Virginia’s wilderness while you’re at it.
For more information, visit CDC.gov/Lyme or OEPS.WV.gov/Lyme.
