Dubuque Iowa News

News Iowans Encouraged to Help Track Iowa’s Ticks Posted 24 August 2010 Iowa State University has an entomology lab on the far north side of campus where scientists track ticks and mosquitoes, the two leading carriers of diseases to humans in the United States. At the Medical Entomology Laboratory, Lyric Bartholomay and lab members work in partnership with the Iowa Department of Public Health - Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology and the University Hygienic Laboratory to conduct surveillance for these arthropods and the disease agents transmitted by them. The lab has built an internationally recognized mosquito/mosquito-borne disease surveillance program for the state of Iowa in its 35 years. Since 1990, the lab also has conducted a Lyme Disease Surveillance Program. Lab members depend on the help of Iowans to keep tabs on ticks and Lyme disease. “With late summer here, the Lyme Disease Surveillance Program is experiencing a decline in tick numbers submitted,” said Jon Oliver, entomology graduate student and lab member. “Most ticks submitted at this time of year are American dog ticks. With cooling weather, however, a second peak of adult blacklegged tick activity will stretch from September through December, peaking in October.” The lab relies on submitted tick specimens to track Iowa tick distribution and infections status. Of special interest to the lab is the blacklegged (a.k.a. deer) tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the Lyme disease-causing bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. The adult blacklegged tick, about to enter its second peak season in October, is of most concern because it is responsible for the transmission of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease in Iowa. “If you find a tick on yourself, a friend, family member or pet, we will gladly take the tick and identify it for you,” Oliver said. “When you find a tick of any sort, wrap it in tissue, add a blade of grass, seal it in a zip-top bag and mail it to us.” Ticks should be mailed to: Department of Entomology Lyme Disease Project 436 Science Hall II, ISU Ames, IA 50011-3222 Oliver said a completed submission form should be sent with the tick. Forms can be downloaded and printed from. Blacklegged ticks submitted are tested for the presence of Lyme disease bacterium. The results help the team determine in what regions of the state there are populations of these ticks, and where those populations also might be transmitting the bacterium. “These tests are not diagnostic for the patient that the tick was removed from,” Oliver cautioned. The surveillance program regularly posts maps to show where Iowan’s typically encounter the three types of ticks most common in the state and where Lyme bacteria infected ticks have been collected. The maps are posted from the tick surveillance Web page at http://www.ent.iastate.edu/medent/ticks_IA. Information about Iowa’s three most common ticks, Lyme disease and directions for removing attached ticks is available in a publication recently updated by the surveillance program. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases in Iowa, PM 2036, is available as a downloadable publication on the ISU Extension Online Store. More about Lyme Disease Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping and integrated pest management.

The Goal of Dubuque 24/7 is to provide the most up to date information possible! Dubuque 24/7 features Dubuque Iowa News and provides a relocation guide for Dubuque, Iowa. Please let us know if anything on this site needs updating, if your group is having an event, or if you have a news story. We publish a network of similar sites, The 24/7 News Network. If your information pertains to more than one of our sites, we'll spread the word. Phone: 563-599-4810 e-mail Information to: info@dubuque247.com Or Post information Using the Form Below:

Please Support this Site by Clicking on Our Sponsor's Ads