Reported cases of lyme disease continue to increase over the years in the United States. And this year, the volume of emergency care for tick bites has reached the highest level since 2017, according to data from the country’s disease control and prevention centers.
Experts say increases are driven by higher temperatures due to climate change and increasing presence of ticks in more areas in the US and Canada – including places where people are less familiar with risks and how to prevent disease.
“When we started doing this [em meados da década de 1980]there were very few cases of reported in Canada. Lyme’s disease is well established in Canada at this time, “said Thomas Daniels, director of the Louis Calder Center, Fordham University Biological Field Station.
The cervical ticks that transmit to are mainly active when temperatures are above 7.2 ° C, and prosper in areas with at least 85% moisture, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“He likes to be in humid areas, not in wet areas, but humid areas,” said Daniels. “If you look in a lawn that is exposed to the sun all day, you will not find ticks. If you walk 6 meters in the woods, where it is shaded and the temperature is usually lower and there is more ground cover, you will find ticks.”
The threat of ticks and mosquitoes, which drive the transmission of diseases such as Western Nile Fever (FNO), dengue and malaria, is already increasing.
“Due to the temperature increases we have seen, because of the human impacts on climate, the temperature is already becoming more appropriate for the transmission of diseases here in the United States and North America,” Erin Mordecai, an associate professor of biology at Stanford University, said at a press conference on Monday (4).
And while climate change is contributing to the expansion of tick habitats, it is not the only factor. Human changes in landscapes also shape where ticks are found.
“It’s never just a factor, right?” He told Jean Tsao, a professor at Michigan State University that he studies disease ecology at a press conference. “In the US continental territory, most changes in distribution are probably due to the change in land use affecting wildlife communities. Also the management of wildlife populations, such as white-clove. This plays an important role for many of these ticks.”
Cervor ticks, also known as black ticks, are the main ticks that transmit lyme disease. During the nymph stage, when they are more active, ticks are approximately the size of a poppy seed and are easy to go unnoticed. When they feed on blood, they can transmit pathogens, including the bacterium Borrelia Burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. This transmission occurs through the tick saliva, which enters the bloodstream of the host during feeding.
Brian Fallon, director of the Disease Research Center -transmitted by Carrapatos and Lyme at Columbia University, told CNN On Friday (1st) that the infection can cause a variety of multisystem symptoms. Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria can go to various parts of the body, including the heart, central nervous system, brain or peripheral nerves.
The onset of lyme disease can also present itself in different ways.
“Most people think of Lyme’s eruption as a target -shaped eruption. In fact, this is not the most common presentation,” Fallon said. “The most common presentation is a more pink, reddish eruption. But the main thing is that it expands in size, from a small eruption to five centimeters or more.”
Fallon notes that some people can also see more than one eruption in different parts of the body. As the disease develops without treatment, more serious symptoms may arise. Symptoms may last months or even years, Fallon said.
“It is mainly recognized by the eruption at first, if you are lucky to see it, and then, by symptoms such as the neurological symptoms that can manifest as facial paralysis or meningitis causing severe neck-rigidity or acute pain or severe penetrating pain,” Fallon said. There may be heart symptoms such as palpitations or slow rhythms; muscle pain and fatigue.
“It can be deeply debilitating,” he said.
Daniels says that although there are measures that can be taken to decrease the likelihood of a tick bite, prevention methods are not infallible. The most important protection against lyme disease is tick removal as soon as possible, he said.
“The key is to remove the tick from you as soon as possible. None of these pathogens [transmitidos por carrapatos] It is transmitted very quickly except the Powassan virus, which can be transmitted in just 15 minutes. But the infection rate for [humanos] It’s very, very low, “said Daniels.
“For Lyme’s disease, you have a 24-48 -hour opportunity window to remove the tick because it takes some time for the tick to prepare during your food to actually transmit the bacteria.”
Daniels advises people to wear more clothes in the summer. “The longer we can keep the tick outside our body and not on our skin, the less likely it is to find a place to fix.” Clothing can also be treated with permethrin, an insecticide that repels ticks.
During walks, Fallon advises people to stay on the trail as ticks circulate in areas with leaves and wooden piles. Daniels recommends that people do a “tick check” in themselves and each other if they are in an area with ticks.
“It’s useful because ticks can go behind the knee, or they can go and bite the back, and you can’t see or reach your back. Take a shower at the end of the day, because it can help remove some ticks that haven’t been completely fixed,” he said.
If a tick is fixed for a prolonged period, Fallon says he will gradually “swell until the size of a raisin” continually sucks blood. If you find a tick, experts advise tweezers to remove it under your body.
“Don’t try to burn it with a cigarette. Don’t try to put anything toxic on it. Remove it with a tweezer,” he said.
See also: tick should be taken gently to avoid spotted fever, says infectologist
