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Illnesses come early

Sizes of ticks as they mature.
By Natasha Clark, Assistant Managing Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW For the first time in the last three years, two less well known forms of tick-borne illnesses have surfaced in East Longmeadow Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis.

Lyme Disease makes up approximately 95 percent of all tick-borne related diseases nation-wide. It is most prevalent in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper-Midwest regions, and in Massachusetts is spread by deer ticks.

While most tick-borne illnesses usually occur in the spring and summer, Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis were detected in town in early 2007.

East Longmeadow volunteer nurse Joanne Andrews said a mild winter may have attributed to the unseasonable contractions.

"A warm winter may have had an affect," Andrews said. "[The cold weather] did not get to kill any of their eggs."

Babesiosis is a parasite called protoza and the disease is very rare. Symptoms of babesiosis occur one to four weeks after a tick bite and are similar to those of malaria, but most cases are very mild and nearly unrecognizable. In more severe cases those symptoms include:

Headache

Fever and chills

Nausea and vomiting

Muscle aches

Anemia

Ehrlichiosis is caused by bacteria that belong to the family called Rickettsiae. The time between the tick bite and symptoms occurring are about seven to nine days. These symptoms may seem flu-like and include those mentioned above.

Deer ticks cling to plants near the ground in brushy, wooded, or grassy places. The ticks, which cannot jump or fly, climb onto animals and people who brush against the plants. Ticks live for two years and usually must be attached for at least 24 hours to pass on bacteria, so removing the tick promptly decreases your chances of being infected.

When a person in East Longmeadow is diagnosed with a tick-borne illness, the information is submitted to the state Department of Public Health and is eventually followed up by the town nurse. The nurse is required to meet with the infected individual and report back to the state.

In 2005, Massachusetts had the fourth highest incidence rate (number of new cases per 100,000 people) of Lyme disease nationally.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has verified that climate change does have an effect on species but at this point in their investigation they have not confirmed nor denied what those effects may be.

The panel was established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme in 1988. Their role is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

In IPCC's "Climate Change 2001: Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" report, the panel found that the "transmission cycle of Lyme disease involves a range of mammalian and avian species, as well as tick species all of which are affected by local ecology. "Under climate change, a shift toward milder winter temperatures may enable expansion of the range of Lyme disease into higher latitudes and altitudes, but only if all of the vertebrate host species required by the tick vector also are able to expand their distribution. A combination of milder winters and extended spring and autumn seasons would be expected to prolong seasons for tick activity and enhance endemicity, but this would not be expected to change disease activity because humans usually are infected by the nymphal stage, which feeds at a specific time during the second year of the cycle."

According to the Massachusetts Department of Health, in 1998 the vaccine LYMErix was approved by the Food and Drug Administration and was removed from the market by 2002 due to lack of demand. No other vaccine for Lyme Disease in humans has been approved.

"States need to deal with this and get it back on the market," Andrews said.

In the meantime, she encourages residents to take precaution when outdoors.

May and June months pose the most risk in being bitten by an infected tick.

The following is a list of preventative measures:

Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks more easily and prevent contact with the skin.

Always wear enclosed shoes.

Wear long pants tucked into the socks, long-sleeved shirts tucked into pants.

Keep long hair pulled back. When gardening, pruning shrubs, or otherwise handling soil and vegetation, wear light-colored gloves, spot-checking them for ticks frequently.

Avoid sitting directly on the ground and stay on cleared, well-worn trails whenever possible. Stay to the middle of the path.

Conduct a full body check of yourself, your children and any outdoor pets, every day. Ticks favorite places are on the legs, in the groin, in the armpits, along the hairline, and in or behind the ears. Also look behind any joints.

Remove any ticks promptly using fine tweezers. The tick should not be squeezed or twisted, grasp it close to the skin and pull straight out with steady pressure.

Early stages of Lyme Disease are usually accompanied by a rash.

Read The Reminder next week for tips on how to reduce ticks in your yard and prevent ticks on animals.

Facts about Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change courtesy of www.ipcc.ch/.