Tick Bites Sending VA Residents To ER: What To Know

VIRGINIA — Hospital emergency rooms in Virginia are seeing springtime jumps in the number of people seeking treatment after being bitten by ticks, which can transmit a host of serious illnesses, including Lyme disease.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in April, 37 of every 100,000 emergency room visits in Virginia have been for treatment of a tick bite, up from 17 bites per 100,000 the month before. The tick bite tracker has reporting limitations, but is helpful overall in helping people determine where ticks are most active, the agency said.

Nationally, 48 of every 100,000 emergency room visits were for treatment of tick bites in April, compared to 19 of every 100,000 visits in March. Ticks are most active in the spring, and tick-borne illnesses are increasing overall, according to CDC research published in 2021.

That research found the incidence of tick-borne diseases had more than doubled from 2004-2016, and that ticks are responsible for 95 percent of all locally acquired vector-borne illnesses, with Lyme disease accounting for 80 percent of those cases.

Many of the insects emerging with spring temperatures play important roles in ecosystems and are harmless to people and animals. Scientists say a healthy tick population is an indicator of an ecosystem’s overall health and stability, and they are an important food source for many reptiles, birds and amphibians.

But friends of humans, felines and canines and other red-blooded mammals? Ticks are not — well, most of them aren’t. Not all ticks bite. Those that do are the American dog tick, blacklegged tick, brown dog tick, Gulf Coast tick, Lone Star tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick and Western blacklegged tick.

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Biting-tick species that can transmit severe and sometimes fatal illnesses that are found in Virginia include:

American dog tick, which transmits: Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The highest risk of being bitten occurs during spring and summer. Adult females are most likely to bite humans.

Brown dog tick, which transmits: Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Dogs are the primary host for this tick in each of its life stages, but the tick may also bite humans or other mammals.

Gulf Coast tick, found along the Bay and Atlantic waters, it transmits: Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, a form of spotted fever. Larvae and nymphs feed on birds and small rodents, while adult ticks feed on deer and other wildlife. Adult ticks have been associated with transmission of R. parkeri to humans.

Lone star tick, which is widely distributed in the eastern and southeastern United States. It transmits: Bourbon virus, Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii (which cause human ehrlichiosis), Heartland virus, tularemia, and STARI. Growing evidence suggests that alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy) may be triggered by the bite of lone star ticks.

Ticks are active anytime the weather is above freezing, but especially now through mid-May and from mid-August to November. Adult ticks and nymphs can transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick-borne illnesses.

More About Tick-Borne Illnesses

Lyme disease: If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause a wide range of symptoms, depending on the state of infection, including fever, rash, facial paralysis and arthritis. Other symptoms, in absence of a rash, include chills, headaches, fatigue, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes.

All but a handful of states reported at least one case of Lyme disease in 2020, according to the latest CDC data. The agency noted, though, that data may not accurately reflect disease trends because many of the high-incidence states have modified their surveillance practices.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Most people who get sick with this illness experience a fever, headache and rash. If not treated with the right antibiotics early, it can be fatal. Before tetracycline antibiotics were available, Rocky Mountain spotted fever fatality rates ranged from 20 percent to 80 percent, according to the CDC.

Cases are found throughout the continental United States, but those in five states — Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — account for more than 50 percent of cases. The disease is transmitted by a variety of ticks, depending on the region.

Powassan virus diseases: Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and general weakness, usually progressing to meningoencephalitis, a very serious neurological condition resembling both meningitis and encephalitis with symptoms that include mental confusion, seizures, paralysis and palsies. If left untreated, it can lead to death.

U.S. cases of Powassan virus diseases have been reported primarily in Northeast and Great Lakes states.

Ehrlichiosis: There are three strains of this illness, one of them potentially deadly. Fatal cases of ehrlichiosis are highest among children around 10 and adults around 70, according to the CDC.

It’s most reported in the Southeast and South Central United States, but three states — Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas — account for 35 percent of all cases.

Here are more tick-borne illnesses:

• Babesiosis
• Borrelia miyamotoi disease
• Colorado tick fever
• Heartland and Bourbon virus diseases
• Rickettsiosis
• Tick-borne relapsing fever
• Tularemia

More information on preventing tick bites, removing ticks, checking your pets for ticks and stopping ticks from getting into your yard is available from the CDC.