Local News from Marbletown, Rochester, & Rosendale
There may be fewer butterflies and bees around than there should be, but there is a plentiful supply of ticks. The main menace to health is the tiny black-legged or deer tick. People who have the misfortune not to notice a deer tick on themselves within 24 hours risk Lyme disease; Lyme has unfortunately become a disease that most people are familiar with. We all probably at least know someone who has struggled to rid themselves of Lyme symptoms (body aches, fever, weakness, etc.) for over one year in spite of antibiotic treatment.
Among the other less common diseases deer ticks carry is babesiosis. The following is a cautionary tale. Craig McKernin of Accord was bitten by a deer tick last October but didn’t realize it for a couple of days, thinking it was a nip from a puppy he'd been playing with. After he saw the tick and removed it, he went to his dermatologist, who gave him doxycycline, the standard Lyme treatment. He got a blood test from a VA doctor but not till several weeks had passed. He woke up one morning hardly able to move. "I didn't have the strength or the energy to move my legs at all,” he recalled. McKernin is 73 and lives alone; he was luckily able to reach his phone to call his sister, who got him to the hospital. He has a mental blank for the next few days and was told later that he'd gone into kidney failure.
Babesiosis is caused by a parasite, and it doesn't respond to a course of doxycycline. As with Lyme, it can take a month or more for symptoms to appear. Not everybody will get a severe case, but in some people, "it can cause organ failure," said McKernin. “The reason I’m here to tell the tale is I got that blood work before I was hospitalized. They did not diagnose me with babesiosis in the hospital. When I was discharged, the following day I got a call from the VA saying that they got the results of the blood work, and I had babesiosis." The VA doc overnighted medication to him. "I took it, and probably after two days I was feeling better, because it was doing the job.”
Though his story is unusual, McKernin learned of other cases in his community. “I belong to a group called Seniors Staying in Place. We meet at Lydia's every Tuesday, and I found out that one of the girls there had had babesiosis, and another girl's son had both babesiosis and Lyme.”
How many cases of babesiosis have been seen in the area? Eve Walter, Ulster County public health director, said, "To date there are nine cases, one in March, four in May and four in June. They are not confined to any particular area at this point." Babesiosis is reportedly more widespread in Long Island.
Another unwelcome parasite is the Lone Star tick. A few of these, so named for the white dot on their backs, have migrated as far north as the Rondout Valley. According to the NY-Presbyterian Hospital website, "Previously a southern-state dweller, this species of tick has moved north in recent years thanks to warming temperatures. The Lone Star tick is unique in that it can transmit a molecule that causes alpha-gal syndrome, a food allergy primarily to red meat and, in some cases, dairy products. A delayed allergic reaction (often two to eight hours after eating) to mammalian meat (beef, pork, lamb) or dairy. Symptoms include hives, severe gastrointestinal distress (vomiting, diarrhea) and anaphylactic shock in many cases."
How numerous are Lone Star ticks in Ulster County? Walter replied, "We do not have an exact count. People do occasionally bring ticks to us for testing and less than a handful have been Lone Star. The state tick surveillance focuses on Ixodes scapularis, or the blacklegged [deer] tick. Lone Star ticks are primarily in the southeast and south-central parts of the US but with climate changes we are seeing more up here but they remain rare. We are concerned about all ticks as these can carry different diseases that each can be potentially highly impactful on people's lives. We encourage people to use insect repellents on their bodies and clothes (and shoes), keep away from high grasses when possible and conduct tick checks throughout the day. If bitten the worst thing to do is stress the tick out. Efforts such as "suffocating" with Vaseline can increase the risk of transmission. Using a tweezer, grabbing as close as possible to the mouth, and pulling the tick straight up and out remains the best practice. Whether you know you have been bitten or not, always be mindful of your health. If you see a rash or experience unexplained pains, tiredness, (flu-like symptoms) see your doctor. The sooner you treat the better."
