Ticks aren’t just for pets, humans are also at risk

Summer is a time when there are multiple opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors.

But like so many good things, there are drawbacks to all that time outdoors, including creepy, crawlies, like ticks.

And the bad news is, ticks don’t just feast on your pets, they also like to dine on you.

Oklahomans are noticing they’re inadvertently bringing home tiny, uninvited hitchhikers this summer, experts from Oklahoma State University are warning.

Those guests are insatiable, and their numbers are peaking.

“In Oklahoma, activity by the Lone Star tick usually peaks in May, but with all the rain we’ve had, it slowed them up a little,” says Dr. Susan Little, professor in the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. “American dog ticks and Gulf Coast ticks are both active right now, too.”

To be sure, ticks don’t care if their meal comes from an adult, child or pet.

The sight of a parasite latched securely onto another creature’s skin — whether human, pet or livestock — is disturbing enough, but ticks also carry the potential for infection and illness. The two most concerning tick-borne sicknesses in Oklahoma are Rocky Mountain spotted tick fever and ehrlichiosis, which typically peak in June and July, Little says. Ticks also can sometimes transmit dangerous viruses.

Diseases caused by ticks have been on the rise across the country, more than doubling between 2006 to 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Justin Talley, professor and Oklahoma State University Extension entomologist, confirms reports of deer ticks and other species across the state are on the rise.

Some prevention tips Talley recommends include: • Know where the enemy lurks — Ticks prefer high humidity and tall vegetation, so even manicured paths near trees and tall grasses deserve caution.

• Think about layers — Light-colored clothes make tick-spotting easier, and ticks like to snuggle into constricted places such as waistlines. If possible, invest in a commercially available, chemical repellant such as DEET.

• Check and doublecheck — Reapply protections throughout the day and search head-totoe one more time before going to bed.

As for those ticks that manage to sneak past security measures, Talley and Little both say removal requires patience: Grasp the insect as close to the skin as possible and slowly pull it away. Do not wiggle or jerk it out, because bug parts left behind can cause infection.

When checking for attached ticks, it’s helpful to know that each species tends to pick a favorite body area. Lone Star ticks are most often found below the waist, while American dog ticks are typically found on the scalp.

Owners of outdoor pets often face problems like agricultural producers with livestock. Not only do ticks carry illness, too many of the parasites will sap an animal’s blood and energy over time and make it more vulnerable to other health issues — Little says she’s seen extreme examples of neglect in which the animals needed blood transfusions to recover. Her published research shows Oklahoma consistently ranks first in the nation when it comes to dog infections by ticks.

OSU experts urged pet families to check for ticks regularly and administer commercially available preventatives, which can be applied topically or orally. Chemically infused collars are available now that can last for as long as eight months, Little says.

“It’s such a simple step to take to prevent so many problems ticks cause,” she says.

People are most likely to notice the bloodsucking phase of any particular tick species. After adults feed enough, the larval and nymph stages develop later — in the case of Lone Star, that tick species doesn’t settle down until late August or September, quietly preparing for next year.

Common ticks

Ticks transmit a greater diversity of disease-causing organisms to wildlife, domesticated animals and humans than any other vector arthropod. Ticks are also known to cause paralysis, toxicosis and allergic reactions. Tick bites can cause dermatitis (an itching, swelling, inflamed condition of the skin) on the host. In animals, the loss of blood can cause secondary anemia and sometimes death.

Ticks have four “developmental” or lifecycle stages: Egg, larva, nymph and adult. Larvae are sometimes called seed ticks, and are slightly smaller than a pin head. Nymphs are larger than a pin head. Adults and nymphs have eight legs, while larvae have six legs.

Ticks are more closely related to spiders than insects. Ticks can be distinguished from insects because their bodies are not divided into distinct segments. A distinct head is lacking, however, mouthparts of varying lengths (depending on the species) protrude from the tick body and are often incorrectly called the head of the tick.

There are two main categories of ticks: Argasidae (soft ticks) and Ixodidae (hard ticks). Soft ticks bloodfeed quickly (within an hour). Hard ticks blood-feed for several days to weeks for the adult ticks. Ticks have a very hard outer layer that encloses all the tick’s organs and allows the tick to withstand environmental stresses. Most of the tick’s life is spent in the off-host environment seeking a host. Some tick life stages can survive for a few years without finding a host and taking a blood meal.

The names dog tick, deer tick and wood tick are commonly used to describe many ticks because of their association with dogs, deer and the forest environment. These names are usually used in reference to the engorged (filled with blood) adult females that look much different in appearance than unfed females, the males and all other life stages. These females are much larger, and, therefore, more visible than the other life stages seen on hosts. These engorged females are often bluishgray, and can be the size of a large olive.

Adding to the confusion of the names is the fact that the common names of the tick species have “dog” and “wood” in their names, such as American dog tick, brown dog tick and Rocky Mountain wood tick. The lifecycle and seasonal activity for each tick species vary considerably.

Depending on the species, ticks are classified as one-, two- and three-host ticks. As a one-host tick, the larva will attach itself to and remain on a single animal throughout its feeding stages (larvae, nymph and adult). Each stage takes a blood meal, except for eggs. After the female completes feeding, she will drop from the host and lay eggs on the ground in masses ranging from several hundred to thousands, then dies. The eggs hatch and the larvae crawl onto the vegetation and transfer to a suitable host as it passes. A two-host tick will utilize one host for both larval and nymphal feeding. A three-host tick will drop from the host between each blood feeding life stage and usually finds a successively larger host with each molt. Most tick species are threehost ticks.

Transmitted diseases Protecting against tick bites is important because they can transmit numerous diseases. In the United States, one disease, called alpha-gal syndrome, is believed to be triggered by a Lone Star tick bite. In the U.S., most cases of alpha-gal syndrome are in the South, East and Central U.S., including Oklahoma.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction to alphagal. Alpha-gal is a sugar molecule found in most mammals, including mammalian meat and products made from mammals, but it is not found in humans.

Alpha-gal syndrome can occur after a tick, which previously fed on a mammal, bites a human. After feeding on a mammal, the tick’s saliva can contain alphagal, which it can transfer to a human’s blood. This can trigger an immune response and cause an allergic reaction because the human body responds as though alphagal is harmful.

Alpha-gal syndrome symptoms can include:

• Skin reactions such as hives or an itchy rash

• Gastrointestinal reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or sever stomach pain

• Respiratory reactions such as cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Drop in blood pressure • Swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eye lids

• Dizziness or faintness.

Alpha-gal syndrome symptoms can differ from person-to-person and can range from mild to severe.

For people who develop alpha-gal syndrome, symptoms may occur from two to six hours after they eat mammalian meat or other products containing alpha-gal.

Alpha-gal syndrome should be managed under the care of an allergist or healthcare provider. The main diagnostic test for alphagal syndrome is a blood test looking for specific antibodies to alpha-gal.

Many foods and products contain alphagal. Most healthcare providers recommend people with alpha-gal syndrome avoid eating mammalian meat such as beef, pork, lamb, venison and rabbit. Depending on a person’s sensitivity and severity of allergic reactions, people may also be recommended to avoid other foods and ingredients which may contain alpha-gal such as milk, milk-products, beef broth and gelatin. Although very rare, some people with severe sensitivity may react to ingredients in certain vaccines or medications, such as medications in a gelatin capsule.

The best way to prevent alpha-gal syndrome is to prevent tick bites. People who have alpha-gal syndrome also need to prevent tick bites because additional tick bites may maintain or reactivate allergic reactions to alpha-gal. There is emerging evidence that some people may be able to safely reintroduce foods containing alpha-gal after long periods of avoiding alpha-gal and tick bites under medical supervision.

Read more about alpha-gal syndrome, products that may contain alpha-gal and steps you can take to prevent tick bites at the CDC website.

OSU Extension educators Jace O. Goodwin and Janis Risley contributed to this story.