Need to identify ticks?Tick ​​app can help

“Watch out for ticks!”

While the phrase is a general warm weather recommendation for nature lovers, the pandemic is declining and more people are adventuring, researchers at the University of Illinois and around the Midwest say blood-sucking carrying illness I am seeking help in my research. Those.

U. of I.Experts are currently promoting Tick ​​app, A collaboration between researchers trying to better understand the prevalence and risk of mites. This is the cause of the increasing number of illnesses here over the last decade.

So far, the app has been downloaded by thousands of people to record tick experiences and take pictures of small creatures that can infect Lyme disease and many other serious illnesses. We sought.

“Tick research is really expanding and needs to be due to the rapid increase in tick-borne diseases,” said Rebecca Lee Smith, an associate professor of epidemiology in the United States. ..

Since the pandemic began, the camp has exploded and is heading for one of the biggest weekends of outdoor activity. The same precautions apply. Wear long trousers and boots and use repellents when walking in lush, wooded areas, whether in Illinois or the surrounding states. Mites are common.

Smith and other researchers say that the disease caused by ticks is believed to be underestimated, so the big picture of the tick problem is still unclear. According to government statistics, nearly 51,000 Lyme disease, various types of spotted fever, and other tick-borne diseases were reported nationwide in 2019, but federal health officials reported “ total number of cases”. Only a part of it. ” According to US health officials, cases of Lyme disease have tripled since the late 1990s.

According to a U. of I. survey, three types of mites have been found in most counties at the University of Illinois. Black-footed mites, also known as deer ticks, are known to spread the debilitating disease Lyme disease. The American dog tick, also known as the wood tick, is associated with a class of diseases known as spotted fever. Untreated Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be fatal. A relatively newcomer to Illinois, ticks are thought to cause diseases that can cause allergies to lean meat.

Deer ticks are believed to have migrated from Wisconsin for decades, but Lone Star is a southern United States tick that was once believed to have failed to survive the Midwestern winter. Climate change may contribute to the adaptability of pests, and that type of tick has been reported to be found in most Illinois counties.

Experts at the University of Illinois want to catch up with state associates like Wisconsin, who have been studying tick trends for many years. Researchers also share information. For example, the app leverages data collected by scientists in collaborative studies in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Provided by / UI News Bureau: Fred Zwicky

This app may help scientists better understand the disease that spreads throughout the Midwest, but it also helps users. For example, if someone bites on a family camping trip, the app allows a person to submit a photo of a tick, and experts will identify the species within a few days and inform them of potential exposure to the disease. Can be done, said Associate Professor Jean Tsao at the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University.

Tsao says it’s important to know that many mites aren’t infected, but recommends that they be preserved after careful removal from human skin with tweezers (the closest point to the attachment). Remove ticks with).

“If a tick bites you, save it,” Tsao said. “Tick spreads a variety of pathogens, which are very important to doctors.”

In southwestern Michigan, where many Chicago citizens live, ticks have spread over the last two decades, increasing the risk of Lyme disease, Tsao said.

There is also an increase in northwestern Indiana, with approximately 200 cases of Lyme disease reported annually. That’s about twice as much as it was ten years ago, said Lee Green, a vector-borne epidemiologist at the Indiana Department of Health.

Green estimates that about 40% of black-footed mites in the area can be infected, can spread Lyme disease, and can cause flu-like symptoms.

Another caveat: Most of the ticks in northwestern Indiana in the summer are small, immature, and “small poppy seeds,” Green said. This presents the usual tick-checking challenges and makes the need for skin and clothing repellents even more important.

Susan Paskewitz, an entomologist and researcher at the University of Wisconsin, said that in general, mites are much more likely to be in shaded but humid places. “They don’t like the bright and hot sun,” she said.

According to Paskewitz, when hiking, stay in the middle of the road if possible, and be careful if you move to the side where mites may be hiding in the grass or leaves.

Provided by / Graham Hickling

Provided by / Graham Hickling

Brett Chase’s environmental and public health reports were made possible with a grant from the Chicago Community Trust.