40% of ticks carry Lyme disease in parts of California

lol…they spelled the bug name wrong in the image. It’s Borrelia burgdorferi…just left out the “d”.

https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html

Just as an FYI, there is a new Lyme disease vaccine in late stage trials, so keep your eyes open for that. As you probably know, Lyme disease is not a joke. A couple of my friends were infected with it, and the diagnosis and treatment was a long and difficult process.

I live in SE Michigan.  Here’s another CDC map for Lyme Disease incidents (below).

It’s interesting that California has managed to surpass Michigan in terms of reported incidents.  One of my climber friends has Lyme, and maintaining his health is a constant battle for him.  He’s flying to see a specialist in Maine this summer.

There’s also a triple-crown guy who gave a talk at our outdoors club early last year, where he reported that his ex-girlfriend caught Lyme while they were hiking the AT 2 years ago.   As you can see, the whole North East is a hotbed of Lyme disease.

My wife and I used to do this 6-hour long orienteering event in Western Pennsylvania that takes place in April.  Orienteering involves a lot of off trail bush whacking, and I picked up at least 3 ticks on my pants during the last event I attended.  At that same event, another young woman had 2 or 3 ticks on her back, and everyone was inspecting each other after the event.

I don’t attend that orienteering event any longer.  I also use a lot of Permethrin, despite concerns over chemical exposure.

I can’t wait until a viable vaccine is available.

Anyone here have Lyme Disease?

A local dermatologist got lyme and at least one other infection (I think Babesiosis) while hunting (can’t remember state) a few years ago. It put him out of medicine, probably for good, in his mid 50’s due to cognitive issues.

Ugh.  :-(

I’m in the Lyme vaccine study.

Thom

Interesting

you received the vaccine and now you’re waiting to see if you get Lyme disease?

do they do blood tests to see if you’re infected?

do you go out in Lyme infected areas a lot?

Jerry, while exposure is likely part of the long term study I’d expect the study will look for immune response to the vaccine. And whether that response is strong enough in the majority (most?) test subjects to be considered effective. And also what side effects there potentially are. Not a doctor but I learned at least a bit these last few years on how vaccine studies go.

Don’t know if this would have any chance of being fast tracked. History says not likely.

Also, not inferring you don’t know this already. But someone reading this may be pondering this study or decide to further enlighten both of us.

I think I would likely be an willing early adopter on such a vaccine. I hate ticks.

I’d be happy to get that vaccine, although there isn’t much Lyme disease in Oregon.  I’d probably just procrastinate and do nothing.

Thanks for participating in the study.  That would be really useful in the northeast and upper midwest

I’ve gotten a number of tick bites in recent years.  It seems like each time I get more of a reaction.  It swells up and itches like crazy.  I’d get a vaccine if it stopped this.

Now, I’m just more careful to treat my clothe with permethrin and check for ticks.

Geeze Louise…now I have to treat my everyday hiking pants and shirt…and a dedicated pair of socks?–with Permethrin. I walk in Tilden park several days a week. Have done so for decades. Nary a tick. But now, until the vaccine comes out, looks like Permethrin is required.

I’m also a participant in the Phase 3 study. The website is here for the child version: https://www.valorlymestudy.com/

not sure if the adult one is still up. This is the main site: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-valneva-initiate-phase-3-study-lyme-disease

It’s a double blind study…I might or might not actually have received the vaccine. They draw blood to get a baseline and then administer a 3 part series and look for immune response afterward with another blood draw. Participants track and report side effects after each dose. Hoping this is shown to be effective, as Lyme Disease is pretty prolific in the NE.

now, if they can only find something to rid me of the Aplha-Gal syndrome I got from a tick…

ahhh… they’re not checking that people don’t get infected with Lyme, but that they have an immune response.  Easier to check.  Still, a good test of effectiveness.

jscott, when you walk through Tilden park do you brush against plants?  I believe that’s how the ticks get onto you.  If you walk on trails that have been cleared, it’s not such a big risk.

I get a stronger reaction with each tick bite, too. That’s A Good Thing – no more sneaky little buggers hanging on un-noticed past the “magical” 24-hour mark for transmitting nasty diseases, including Lyme. Usually I notice them a lot sooner than that.

IIRC, at least one vaccine under development triggers an allergic reaction to tick saliva, so you’ll notice and get rid of it quicker. If it comes on the market, Jerry and I probably won’t benefit.

Can’t remember any tick bites since I started using permethrin on head-to-toe clothing. The British and U.S. Armies have treated combat uniforms with permethrin for many years.

In the big picture, permethrin is not that bad, and it’s frequently applied to people’s skin for lice and scabies. Mostly keep it out of natural water sources, and keep fresh permethrin away from cats. Insect resistance is building, thanks to overzealous application to crops.

Tradeoffs. HYOH. Or stay home, safe from outdoor perils.

— Rex

More on permethrin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

LA Times today:
A gross side effect from California’s extra wet winter: More disease-carrying ticks this spring

Sierra, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Mariposa and Humboldt counties have the highest rates of Lyme in the state.

It takes about 18 months for the western black-legged tick to go through its life cycle. “It may well be next spring [2024] that ticks are really booming.”

Oh. Joy. I live in one of those counties.

And here’s a scary report on “vector-borne” diseases in California, including Lyme and several more:
https://westnile.ca.gov/pdfs/VBDSAnnualReport21.pdf
You shouldn’t have slept through those math and physics classes on vectors :-)

Correction to my previous post:
No tick bites for me while backpacking in permethrin-treated clothes and shoes. I got a tick bite a few years ago, probably in my backyard or at the beach. When the bite got inflamed, an urgent care doctor insisted on a round of antibiotics, despite no testing and against CDC recommendations. That plus two other rounds of oral bacteria-killers in adjoining months for other problems, and my gut microbiome hasn’t been the same since. Not recommended.

Tradeoffs suck sometimes.

— Rex

I’ve gotten tick bites only when I forgot to apply permethrin

The first sensation I get with a tick bite is an itching sensation.  I think the tick has local anesthetic so it doesn’t hurt.  I now have “muscle memory” of what that feels like so I detect it sooner.

And when a tick imbeds into me I know how it feels when I run my hand over it.  Sort of like a mole, except it moves around a little.

I have a “tick twister” if the bugger hasn’t imbedded too much, and a “tweezer guru” if it’s really difficult to dig out.

“jscott, when you walk through Tilden park do you brush against plants?”

Mostly not, but it’s inevitable. There’s also a lot of poison oak around, so I’ve trained myself not to brush up against plants in general. I see a lot of folks out there in sleeveless t shirts and shorts.

Yeah been hit before down by Mojave Dam/Deep Ck in a wet year, so I’ll be going full permethrin and DEET for my California summer vacation this year.

Add: spring vacation too!!  Spray it on via instructions (including inside various cuffs) and let it soak.  Then hit it again.

Permethrin’s nasty to apply, but I did it. The trees and flowers here say it’s spring; the weather says it’s winter. I figure ticks are around, just like cherry blossoms and tulip trees flowers and all the rest. Maybe the coming near freeze next week will kill some? ticks, I mean.

“Hit it again”. I’ve only ever applied one layer. Am I missing something? the instructions are miniscule on the bottle but they don’t seem to mention spraying twice. I’m a bit worried about toxicity levels.

Hit it again ..

By the time I’ve done the exterior and cuffs of my clothes, socks, tyvek groundclothes exterior/perimeters, etc.. I still have a bit left.  So I’ll let the initial application dry and then put a second layer concentrating on cuffs.  When I was in the service the govt stuff used to saturate the uniform.  It was a just-add-water mixture in a bag .. then place the entire garment in to saturate, then dry.  Of course we wore t-shirts and briefs underneath, but the legs and arms were direct contact.

One tick was one too many.

They say once it dries it’s not toxic

I don’t think that even if you get some liquid on your skin it’s that big a deal.  It’s okay for liquid on dogs, cows,…  Toxic for cats.  You don’t want to get high exposure to it though.

https://health.maryland.gov/phpa/IDEHASharedDocuments/permethrin.pdf

I got so so so many tick bites as a kid growing up in Minnesota. Every Sunday we’d be hiking in the woods or on some prairie land somewhere. Always picking off ticks which we’d put in a jar of alcohol in the bathroom – nasty! I feel incredibly lucky to have avoided Lyme and any other diseases.

A friend’s child is pretty much home-bound due to Lyme. It took more than a year to properly diagnose, and the treatment isn’t very effective at this late stage. It’s definitely something to avoid!