Warmer weather signals tick season in Arkansas, but tick numbers aren't expected to be significantly higher this year, according to an entomologist with the University of Arkansas' Agriculture Division.
Although some species of ticks are more susceptible to cold weather than others, entomologist Kelly Loftin said the severity of any tick season depends more upon the availability of food for the parasite than the harshness of the previous winter.
"I wouldn't anticipate it being any worse this year than in previous years," Loftin said. "Generally, every year in localized areas we have a lot of ticks. What changes from year to year is the period of occurrence."
Depending on the species, ticks can bite about any time of the year in Arkansas, but people are most likely to be bitten during spring and summer. Loftin said that's partly because ticks are the most active at those times and people tend to be outdoors more.
However, Loftin said, weather can affect when tick populations become more active.
"If we have a really mild winter, we'll start seeing ticks as early as February or March," he said. "If we have a delayed warm-up, the ticks may not come out in great numbers until April or May."
People need to be aware of ticks because they can transmit dangerous diseases to humans through their bites, said David Theuret, an entomologist with the Arkansas Department of Health.
From 2011 through 2018, there were 8,399 tick-borne illnesses reported to the Health Department. Of those cases, 6,699 were spotted-fever rickettsiosis, 1,315 were ehrlichiosis and 284 were tularemia. There were 33 deaths related to tick diseases reported over that same period -- 16 were from spotted fever, 14 from ehrlichiosis and three from tularemia.
Lyme disease, one of the most well-known tick-borne illnesses, accounted for only 14 Arkansas cases over that period and three travel-related cases. Arkansas reported no fatalities from Lyme disease during that period, according the Health Department.
Theuret stressed the importance of properly removing ticks as soon as possible, because most illnesses are transmitted between 36 and 48 hours after the bite. Although tick-borne illnesses vary in severity depending upon the pathogens that are transmitted, Theuret said spotted-fever rickettsiosis -- one variation of which is Rocky Mountain spotted fever -- is particularly dangerous.
"That's sort of like the classic spotted-fever disease," he said. "If left untreated, it has a mortality rate of somewhere around 25 percent."
Theuret recommended using tweezers to remove ticks, grasping the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pulling it straight out.
"If you jerk it, twist it, or squeeze it, you risk leaving the head embedded in your skin or causing it to inject more bacteria into the wound," he said. "None of those things are something you want to have happen."
If the head of the tick breaks off in the wound, it should be removed with tweezers or scraped out, Theuret said. The wound should be cleaned carefully with alcohol or iodine, he said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, five types of ticks are most likely to be encountered in the United States, and all have the potential to transmit disease.
The American dog tick -- also known as a wood tick -- is found mostly east of the Rocky Mountains. It and the brown dog tick, which is found worldwide, are major carriers of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is one of the deadliest tick-borne illnesses in the Americas, according to the CDC.
The Lone Star tick, which has a distinctive white dot on the back of the adult female, is by far the most prevalent species in Arkansas, Loftin said. The tick is very aggressive and can transmit several diseases, including ehrlichiosis, a flu-like illness, and tularemia, an infection that can cause severe headache, fever, chills and fatigue.
The black-legged tick, found throughout the eastern United States, also can carry and transmit a number of diseases, including Lyme disease.
The Gulf Coast tick, found mostly in areas near the Gulf Coast, is known to carry spotted-fever rickettsiosis.
Loftin recommends using insect repellents containing Deet or picaridin on skin to keep ticks and other insects away when outdoors, especially when hiking through heavily wooded areas, in pastures, or along deer trails.
To help repel ticks from clothing, he recommends using repellents that contain permethrin, a synthetic form of an insect-thwarting compound from the chrysanthemum flower.
Loftin said there are also many over-the-counter and prescription topicals and collars that can be used for pets.
State Desk on 04/29/2019