Lyme disease is a serious illness that deer ticks can transmit. It is important to be aware of the percentage of deer ticks that carry the disease to avoid being infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 30% of deer ticks are infected with Lyme disease. This means that there is a significant risk of being infected if a deer tick bites you.
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is transmitted to humans and even animals through the bite of an infected black-legged tick. The symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic bulls-eye rash. If left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics.
How do ticks get Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a serious infection that ticks can transmit. Ticks usually contract the disease from infected animals, such as deer or mice. When a tick bites an infected animal, it sucks up the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The tick then passes on the bacteria to humans when it bites them.
How fast can ticks transmit Lyme disease?
Lyme disease can take just 12 hours to transmit to humans from a tick, according to a study at the Institut Pasteur. The majority of the time, though, the tick needs to be attached for at least 36 hours before the Lyme disease bacterium can be spread. That’s why it’s so important to check for ticks after being in an area where deer ticks live.
If you find a tick on your body, remove it immediately and contact your doctor.
What states have ticks that carry Lyme disease?
The ticks that carry Lyme disease bacteria are found in many parts of the United States, so it is important for people who live in or visit these areas to be aware of the risks. In 2019, the CDC confirmed high Lyme disease incidents in the following states:
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Delaware
- Minnesota
- District of Columbia
- New York
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- Maryland
- Rhode Island
- New Hampshire
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Vermont
What animals carry ticks with Lyme disease?
There are more than 60 species of animals that carry ticks with Lyme disease. These include lizards, chipmunks, raccoons, mice, and squirrels.
What natural essential oil keeps ticks that give Lyme disease away?
Since 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered the commonly used biopesticide oil of citronella as an insect repellant.
Thyme and citronella essential oil together proved to be the most efficient against ticks, according to a study that examined 11 different essential oils.
Where do you send ticks for Lyme testing?
In the absence of symptoms from Lyme disease, tick testing can be a helpful way of knowing whether a Lyme disease-carrying tick has bitten you. However, even if the tick that bit you was carrying Lyme, it is not a replacement for a doctor’s diagnosis of a disease in you because not all people who were bitten by an infected tick will become infected.
Ticks are often sent for testing in a sealed zip-lock bag and delivered to laboratories by overnight, priority, or UPS delivery services. The majority of tick testing operations require that you send the tick, in addition to your name, address, phone number (including area code), and payment. You might want to ask the lab for any further details around how much they require to be paid as well as their accepted payment methods.
The majority of tick tests utilize the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, which amplifies pathogen-specific DNA.
