Thriving ticks boost concerns

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Thriving ticks boost concerns

By McLachlin, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, December 15, 2001

WEST PALM BEACH -- Time to update the past year's plague list:

Butterfly ballots. Terrorists. Anthrax.

And now -- ticks.

While South Florida was distracted by larger and noisier events, ticks and

the diseases they carry have been mushrooming silently into a mini-epidemic.

" All parts of Palm Beach County are seeing a greater infestation, " said

Zafir, a veterinarian at the Animal Hospital of the Palm Beaches in

Lake Worth. " I've probably seen at least a five- to tenfold increase in

ticks. "

Veterinarians blame three factors: the end of the drought; use of raw mulch;

and the arrival of migratory birds and Christmas trees.

" Ticks thrive in moist climate, " said Stephan, of Baker Veterinary

Clinic in West Palm Beach. " They hibernate when it's dry, then start to

reproduce when when it rains. "

And everything has been ideal for them this year, said Stuart Armstrong, of

Best Vet in Boynton Beach.

The outbreak peaked in the wet summer and early fall months, then slacked as

the weather turned dry.

" I've seen dogs with hundreds of ticks on them, " Armstrong said.

Mulch is a major tick transporter, according to the vets. Ticks live in

grass and woods, and they're still there when land is cleared and the trees

are ground into mulch.

" Homeowners buy it, put it around their trees and bushes and bring the ticks

home, " Armstrong said.

Chemically treating or irradiating the wood, as some commercial mulch

companies do, can get rid of them, but " raw mulch that was woodland a week

before is often a potent source of ticks, " Stephan said.

The itching torment of a tick bite is bad enough for animal or human, but

the real worry is whether disease is incubating in the welt.

Ticks that carry Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever aren't native

to Florida, but millions of people and animals travel to and from the states

where they flourish. They either get bitten or the ticks hitchhike to

Florida on them, or on migrating birds and on plants and Christmas trees.

The Palm Beach County Health Department has recorded eight cases of Lyme

disease this year, compared with two last year and five in each of the two

preceding years. Florida had 54 cases last year, and the tentative total

this year is 53.

The state had nine cases of Rocky Mountain fever this year, down from the

previous year's 12. Palm Beach County had one Rocky Mountain case last year

and none this year, according to preliminary reports.

The tick-borne bacterial diseases ehrlichiosis (er-lick-ee-OH-sis) and

babesiosis (ba-BEE-si-OH-sis) are potentially deadly for dogs if not

treated. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, swollen glands and internal

bleeding.

" I had 10 cases of ehrlichiosis that came in from Miami in the last couple

of months, " said Xavier , a veterinarian at El Cid Animal Hospital,

who treats rescued pets. " They were loaded with ticks. "

Two types of human ehrlichiosis also have been identified. If caught early,

the disease can be zapped in both dogs and people with doxycycline, one of

the antibiotics used to stop anthrax.

" Nowadays, I'm routinely testing any animal with fever for ehrlichiosis, "

said Iyampillai Arun, of Summit Boulevard Animal Hospital.

It takes at least 12 hours for a tick to transmit enough bacteria to infect

its host, so removing it quickly is important, but not always easy.

Ticks are arachnids, like spiders, mites and scorpions. They have eight

legs, harpoonlike mouth parts and the ability to produce a sticky secretion

to help them hold on while they're feeding.

" There are lots of myths about touching them with matches or gasoline, but

that is not a good way to make them withdraw, " said Conti, state public

health veterinarian. " Grasp it firmly as close to the skin as possible and

pull it straight out. Then clean the area with soap and water and apply an

antibacterial ointment. And wash your hands. "

Veterinarians say such pesticides as Frontline and Revolution and Preventic

collars are the most effective in protecting animals against ticks. There

also is a vaccine against Lyme disease.

Jack Liggett, a local veterinarian for more than 40 years, says this tick

outbreak has been bad, but not the worst ever.

" Years ago we had more because we had more woods, " he said. " As the

population moved in, it moved the ticks out farther west. "

Liggett, who practices at Clear Lake Animal Hospital, draws a frightful

picture of what can happen if ticks get out of control.

" If one female tick falls off your dog and crawls up your wall and into a

crack, that female can lay 5,000 to 10,000 eggs, " he said. " In a few days,

you've got thousands of tiny ticks crawling down your walls. You almost have

to move out. You have to fog and fog again.

" They're very hard to kill. "

mary_mclachlin@...

Tick tips For you:

Wear light-color clothing so you can see ticks more easily.

Wear long sleeves buttoned at the wrist and long pants tucked into socks.

Use an insect repellant containing DEET. Lightly spray clothing, especially

children's, and avoid direct contact with skin.

Remove ticks as soon as you detect them. Don't touch them directly; use

tweezers or tissue, and don't crush them until they're away from the skin

and placed in a disposable container.

For your pet:

Many flea prevention and treatment products help control ticks.

Owners whose dogs have substantial exposure to ticks (e.g., sporting dogs,

dogs that go camping and those spending time in forest preserves or woods)

should also ask their veterinarian's advice about the appropriateness of a

vaccination for Lyme disease.

Sources: American Camping Association, American Veterinary Medical

Association.