Information from CDC signifies this can be a foul tick season. Specialists supply tricks to cut back your probability of coming down with Lyme illness, ehrlichiosis and different tickborne illnesses, and what to be careful for.
ANDREW LIMBONG, HOST:
It is wanting like a foul 12 months for tick bites. Information from the CDC present persons are in search of emergency care on the highest charges since 2019. So in case you are planning a hike or a visit to the park and also you need to keep away from these blood-sucking bugs, NPR’s Pien Huang has some ideas that can assist you fend them off.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: There are a few dozen totally different ticks within the U.S. that may trigger issues for human well being. Within the northeast, mid-Atlantic and higher Midwest, the largest downside is Lyme illness. Thomas Hart is an infectious illness microbiologist at Johns Hopkins College in Maryland. He says Lyme illness is transmitted by contaminated deer ticks.
THOMAS HART: You possibly can encounter these ticks actually at any time of the 12 months, however they will be probably the most energetic in hotter months, they usually are likely to dwell in woody or grassy areas.
HUANG: Within the central and southeastern U.S., ehrlichiosis and noticed fever rickettsiosis are high issues, together with a tick-induced allergy to crimson meat. Tick bites are much less frequent within the west, however additionally they occur there and may unfold Lyme illness, anaplasmosis and some different issues. So if all of that is making you itchy, Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist with CDC, says there are precautions you’ll be able to take.
ALISON HINCKLEY: You possibly can put on insect-repellent-treated clothes. We name that permethrin-treated clothes. That is a very easy factor to do.
HUANG: Cowl up as a lot pores and skin as attainable and examine your self day by day.
HINCKLEY: Showering whenever you are available from exterior actually has proven to be a great way to forestall tick-borne illnesses.
HUANG: That is as a result of the longer a tick feeds on you, the upper the chance of an infection. So for those who discover a tick, take it off immediately. One of the best ways is to make use of tweezers, seize it as near the pores and skin as you’ll be able to, and discover out what kind of tick it’s and the way lengthy it has been feeding on you. If it is a deer tick and also you’re in an space the place Lyme illness is frequent, Hinckley says see a health care provider.
HINCKLEY: The one time you’ll get an antibiotic after a tick chew and earlier than any signs, it will be to forestall Lyme illness. And in that case, we advocate only a single dose.
HUANG: In any other case, look ahead to signs like fever, aches and rash. If these present up, Hinckley says, search medical care. You would not be alone. Some 31 million folks get tick bites every year.
Pien Huang, NPR Information.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts might range. Transcript textual content could also be revised to appropriate errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its unique broadcast or publication. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.
