Staying on trails is the primary advice experts give to avoid tick bites. At the very least, people should lie on a blanket and shake it when they get upīirkland said he sprays repellent containing DEET on his trouser legs, as well as on the legs and underbelly of his horse, when he goes off-trail. He cringes at the sight of park visitors, under the false impression that ticks only come out in the summer, lying down in the fresh spring grass. Bitten by ticks more times than he can remember in a 39-year career in state and county parks, Birkland said he’s more concerned about the small arachnids than rattlesnakes. “Those little guys wreak havoc,” Annadel Park Ranger Bob Birkland said. Sonoma County’s average of eight cases a year is “a definite concern,” but a lesser threat than conditions such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Holbrook said.Īt Annadel State Park, the Santa Rosa recreational mecca that attracts about 150,000 hikers, runners, mountain bikers and horseback riders a year, people and black-legged ticks, commonly called deer ticks, are on a collision course. Since many cases go unreported, the CDC cites studies estimating that about 300,000 people contract Lyme disease each year. There were 410 Lyme disease cases in California between 20, less than one-half percent of the 121,501 reported cases nationwide, according to the CDC.
Put in perspective, California’s overall Lyme disease infection rate of 0.2 cases per 100,000 is minuscule compared with rates of 50 to 70 cases in New England. Mendocino and Humboldt counties have fewer cases, but join Sonoma on the list of nine counties with the highest rate of cases per 100,000 people. Sonoma County is ground zero for Lyme disease in California, with 41 confirmed cases - more than any other county - from 2010 to 2014. Long-term symptoms of Lyme disease include arthritis, pain, heart irregularities and brain and spinal cord inflammation. Patients treated with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sometimes, a distinctive bulls-eye rash is the first evidence of an infected tick bite, or it’s the onset of the flu-like symptoms of Lyme disease: chills and fever, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. They can bite a person, transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and drop off without the human knowing anything happened.
Western black-legged ticks in their immature stage, known as nymphs, measure one-twentieth of an inch, about the size of a poppy seed. The best approach, if bitten, is to immediately and safely remove the tick, save it for identification and to consult a health care provider, Holbrook said.īut the greatest risk is from ticks so small their bite may go unnoticed. “I really do want people to be aware of the risk and to take precautions,” she said, noting that ticks carrying Lyme disease live in the area. “It’s early spring,” said Karen Holbrook, deputy health officer, with spring officially two weeks away. And last month’s warm spell, prompting flowers and trees to blossom and grapevines to bud, kicked it off, officials said.
It’s tick season, which runs year-round in the region’s woods and fields, but peaks in the spring, or whenever spring-like weather arrives.
In Sonoma County parks and other places where people enjoy getting close to nature, a tiny part of nature is ready to bite.
0 kommentar(er)
