Anyone have any opinion or data regarding whether Florida ticks are considered high risk for carrying lyme?
Quote from ILADS website below (what to do if bit by tick) suggests one thing to consider is if you live in a bad area, where ticks are more likely to be infected. So that makes sense in general, but, for Florida, do we think a high pct. are infected?
Also, I am guessing the belief is that deer ticks, as opposed to other ticks, are more likely to be infected ... how does one tell a deer tick from another kind of tick?
Any suggestions?
Below is Quote from ILADS
There is no black and white answer as to whether or not to treat prophylactically if bitten by a deer tick. If you live in an endemic area for Lyme disease, then you should definitely consider treatment, because a high percentage of ticks are infected. If you do decide to be treated, it should be for no less than 3 weeks. Be aware that early treatment will prevent the body from mounting an antibody response; subsequent testing for Lyme will be negative.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- The concept that lyme must be endemic before "enough" people have it before one takes action, I find to be preposterous - but that's what the CDC and IDSA seem to base their guidance upon.
And since they close their eyes to really finding it, it's important not to take their word on if lyme in any one region is endemic.
Yes, ILADS is more realistic.
Endemic or not, lyme can be anywhere . . . really, anywhere. It does not matter even if the chances are 50-50 as there is always a chance. Any chance does not make for good odds if one is to just hope it won't happen with any particular tick. Being proactive seems wise.
There are various ways to be proactive and assertively & directly address potential infection, though.
ANY kind of tick can carry lyme - or a host of other infections. So can other vectors. There is nothing special about a certain kind of any of them.
Int J Med Sci 2013; 10(7):915-931. doi:10.7150/ijms.6273
Research Paper
Lyme Borreliosis in Human Patients in Florida and Georgia, USA - 2013
L. Clark1, , Brian Leydet1,2, Shirley Hartman3
1. Department of Public Health, University of North Florida, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, Florida USA -
Posted by Told you I was sick (Member # 35068) on :
Sent you a PM with more research info. on this matter.
Thanks, Told you...
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
YES, YES, YES... lots of infected ticks there. Here is some info that may help that I put together for the www.FloridaLyme.org website.
Borrelia (Lyme) Strains Documented in Florida
Borrelia americana Borrelia andersonii Borrelia bissettii Borrelia burgdorferi* Borrelia garinii Borrelia lonestari Borrelia turicatae Unnamed- (divergent strain clustered between Borrelia bissettii & Borrelia carolinensis) *Standard lab tests are only designed to detect exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi and those tests miss up to 75% of people who have the Borrelia burgdorferi strain of Lyme disease.
Here is a new study from NC. It emphasizes the numbers of ticks and specifically STARI problem in the south.
Two adult residents (one male, one female) in NC were bitten by 412 ticks in 13 years. The authors found STARI may be more common than originally thought.
I don't know whether that is true about deer ticks vs other ticks. I got lyme from just a regular dog tick, it wasn't tiny like a deer tick.
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
Any type of tick has the ability to carry diseases, including Lyme.
Posted by MichaelTampa (Member # 24868) on :