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Tick expert tells Yarmouth Board: this season shows higher tick encounters; prevention recommended
Summary
At its July 20 meeting a visiting tick expert told the Board of Health that ER visits for tick bites on Cape Cod are at record levels for the last decade and urged residents to use permethrin-treated clothing, repellents and regular tick checks.
YARMOUTH PORT, Mass. — A visiting tick specialist told the Yarmouth Board of Health on July 20 that this tick season has produced more emergency-room visits for tick bites across Cape Cod and the broader Northeast than in any of the past 10 years, but that the disease profile so far resembles prior seasons. The expert reviewed local tick species (including blacklegged/deer tick and lone-star tick) and the illnesses they can transmit — Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and, for lone-star ticks, alpha-gal syndrome.
The presenter recommended prevention steps including permethrin treatment of clothing (commercial or home treatment at 0.5% permethrin), long clothing and tucking pants into socks, use of DEET or Picaridin on exposed skin and thorough post-exposure tick checks. "Permethrin treatment will give you about a 90% reduction in tick bites," the presenter said. The Board thanked the speaker and noted the information is available through the Cooperative Extension and local health resources.
