The Lone Star Tick primarily resides in the southeast region of the US, but are also present in Maine, New York, and Minnesota. So, if you’re a fan of red meat and love the great outdoors, it’s highly important to take the proper precautions to protect yourself from the Lone Star Tick.
However, since we are in the midst of tick season, public health experts advise us to exercise extreme caution, for the Lone Star Tick is expanding to more and more states across the US.
Currently, the Lone Star Tick is, so far, the only species of ticks that cause this bizarre allergy. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.Red meat lovers beware! Earlier this year, the Lone Star Tick was newly discovered as a tick species whose bites can cause alpha-gal syndrome–an allergy to red meat. (Send your questions to or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1955, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Talk to your provider about your concerns. The primary care physicians at UCLA Health offer everything from routine screenings and disease prevention to coordinated treatments for a wide range of health conditions. If symptoms develop, it’s vital to seek medical care. Remove with a steady, even pressure, then clean the area with soap and water.
Lone star tick bites skin#
If bitten, use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Be vigilant about checking your clothes, hair and skin for ticks when you return from an outing. So cover up when outdoors, preferably in light-colored clothes, which make ticks more visible. A tick perches on a bit of vegetation, legs outstretched, and waits for a host to brush up against it. Instead, patients receive supportive care that addresses their symptoms. There are no vaccines or medications to prevent or treat infection with heartland virus. Diagnosis is via a patient's physical symptoms, their history of tick exposure and appropriate laboratory tests. Symptoms are in line with other tick-borne diseases, including fever, headache, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue and muscle or joint pain. However, as is common with diseases that health care providers aren’t familiar with yet, the actual number of cases is probably higher. It’s a rare disease, with about 50 cases identified since its discovery in Missouri in 2009. Now, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta have found that the Lone Star tick has become a potential carrier of the heartland virus. We have previously written about how a bite from a Lone Star tick can lead to alpha-gal syndrome, in which the person who was bitten becomes allergic to red meat. It inhabits the southeastern, south-central and eastern states and is the most common tick in Georgia. Females have a white splotch on their backs, the so-called “Lone Star.” In males, white markings at the edges of the body resemble a horseshoe. Adults are about one-quarter of an inch long. It’s a reddish-brown tick with a rounded body. For the heartland virus, it’s the Lone Star tick.
Among these is the heartland virus that you’re asking about.ĭifferent species of ticks carry different diseases. At the same time, biologists continue to identify new pathogens carried by ticks that cause disease in humans. This has led to a jump in the number of tick-borne infections reported each year. In recent years, the geographic range of various tick species has been expanding. That still poses a danger because, as most of us know, tick bites can transmit parasites, bacteria and viruses. Only a handful - biologists estimate from 10 to 12 species - commonly bite humans. There are more than 80 species of ticks in the United States. And with spring weather warming much of the rest of the nation, regions that get a winter respite from the tiny parasites are seeing their return. What can you tell us about it? It seems like ticks are a bigger problem every year.ĭear Reader: Due to the mild climate in your part of the country, ticks are a year-round concern. Our family spends a lot of time outdoors, so it’s something we’re worried about. Dear Doctors: The news here in Atlanta is talking about a new tick disease called the heartland virus.
0 kommentar(er)
