By: Sandra Lee, CEO, NJ Labs
Ticks are a year-long issue, but the season for ticks peaks from April to October. Are you ready for tick season? Do not ignore it. Do not freak out.
What was once a regional issue has now become a national problem because of the migration of these bugs and the increasing frequency in which people travel and spend time outdoors. When it comes to ticks, most people are concerned about being infected with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia Burgdorferi that is transmitted to humans through the bite of blacklegged or deer ticks. Lyme Disease is an inflammatory disease that if left untreated can lead to possible arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders. The CDC estimates that there are about 300,000 cases of Lyme Disease per year, with more than 96% concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwestern United States. However, there are many other tick species across the United States that also spread disease and cause virus-like symptoms including headaches, fever, fatigue, chills and muscle aches. This makes tick testing crucial, so you know the tick that bit you. Tick testing is a proactive measure to take that can help a doctor or veterinarian determine the best course of action to treat a tick-borne pathogen.
Be Aware of the Tick Types
Before learning more about tick testing, it is important to know the kinds of tick you or your pet may come across. The known species of ticks in the United States that bite and transmit diseases include:
- Black-legged Tick (deer tick), which transmit Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis and Powassan Disease; found mostly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest of the United States.
- American Dog Tick (wood tick), which transmits Tularemia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; mostly found east of the Rocky Mountains and along the California coast.
- Lone Star Tick (turkey tick), which transmits bacteria that cause Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia and STARI; found widely in the eastern half of the United States.
- Gulf Coast Tick, which transmits Rickettsioses; found across the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico.
- Brown Dog Tick (kennel tick), which transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever; found worldwide and transmits the fever in Southwestern United States.
- Western Black-legged Tick, which transmits Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis; found along the Pacific Coast.
- Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, which transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever and Tularemia; found in the Rocky Mountain states.
Tick Prevention
You may encounter a tick during everyday activities. Tick populations tend to be in elevated, wooded and grassy areas where creatures they feed on live. However, they can also be found in populated urban areas and coastal locations. Ticks enjoy moist and humid environments, like wood piles, leaf piles and litter, bird feeders, or fallen and low-hanging branches. Some ticks are also found in homes, such as the Brown Dog Tick and Soft ticks. To prevent the at-home ticks from entering your home be sure to keep lawn grasses low, eliminate leaf litter and distribute gravel to create a zone that prevents ticks from coming in. Additionally, here are some tips to prevent tick bites:
- Avoid direct contact with ticks by avoiding wooded and grassy areas; and if hiking, stay near the center of trails.
- Dress appropriately with long pants and long sleeves, and ensure the clothing has been pretreated with permethrin, or spray 0.5% permethrin on clothing.
- Immediately take a shower after coming home from outdoors, and check for ticks on body, gear and pets.
- Tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks.
- Use monthly flea and tick medications for pets as recommended by your veterinarian.
Tick Testing Peace of Mind
There are specific steps to take if you or your pet get bit by a tick. When removing the tick, you must be cautious because the way the tick is removed can affect whether or not a pathogen-positive tick’s disease will be transmitted to you or your pet’s bloodstream. To safely remove a tick, use plastic tweezers to grasp the tick, pull the tick upward with steady pressure, and thoroughly clean and disinfect the bite area. Do not use metal cosmetic tweezers that could damage the tick or the skin. After the tick is removed, do not burn, freeze or squeeze the tick. Make sure to monitor the affected area for signs of infection. Immediately send the tick into a lab that uses a DNA-based method to test for common tick-borne pathogens, including Lyme disease.
Having a tick test and sample collection kit can make this process easier, especially if you are on vacation or outdoors. For peace of mind, and to be sure about the tick that bit you, I recommend including a Tick SURE kit to your first-aid kit. The Tick SURE kit includes simple directions on how to remove a tick along with plastic tweezers and safe packaging for the tick to be sent in a pre-paid, first-class envelope that is delivered to the FDA and DEA inspection lab for full identification and testing. Once the tick arrives at the lab, the tick’s DNA is extracted to identify the species, then tested for the different pathogens it may carry. Having a tick test and sample collection kit on hand will alleviate unnecessary stress if you come in contact with a tick because you will know what to do with it. At the same time, you send the tick in for testing, make an appointment with your doctor or veterinarian if you or your pet are not experiencing any symptoms. Sometimes symptoms do not show up until later, but the sooner you can get checked out the quicker you can be treated. Having the lab results of the tick in hand will help the doctor determine the best course of action.
What Does A Positive Test Mean?
If the tick test results from the lab come back positive, don’t panic. A positive tick test does not mean that you or your pet have the disease; a positive tick test just means the pathogen in the tick has been detected. If you are diagnosed with Lyme disease early, doctors can use antibiotics to get rid of the disease within the first 14 days after transmission. However, if left untreated, Lyme disease may stay with you for the rest of your life. Another reason why testing is so important.
Don’t Freak Out
Being aware of tick season and taking preventive measures are the first steps toward protecting you and your pet’s health. A tick test and sample collection kit is an important addition to your first aid kit so you can enjoy your time outdoors. You can view videos and pictures HERE so you can be sure about the types of ticks you encounter and be prepared with the next steps. Most importantly, do not freak out when you encounter a tick. Mistakes can be made with tick removal if you are in a panic. We cannot avoid the outdoors, but we can be aware of the critters that live there, and the hitchhikers that come along with them, so we know what to do if a tick bites you.
Biography
Sandra Lee is the CEO of NJ Labs, a nationally recognized provider and advocate for quality in chemistry and microbiology testing that serves the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, dietary supplement, cosmetic and cannabis/CBD industries. As a scientist and one of the few female CEOs in the analytical testing industry, she has a passion for chemistry and how it influences multiple aspects of our daily lives. At NJ Labs she leads the privately-owned FDA and DEA inspected facility that has been a mainstay in the testing industry for 85 years with a certified full-service contract analytical testing laboratory that follows strict Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations and holds ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation. She also hosts the “Going Beyond Testing” podcast series to help companies and consumers get an insider’s look at testing practices and what should be tested to keep products safe and effective. Lee is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.
