Ticks

[NewOldGuy]

How big of a problem are ticks on the AT? Strange not to see a thread about this.

This Spring, I am seeing lots of ticks after hikes on local trails in central North Carolina. So far I am seeing the large "dog" ticks. They are tough to pull out. Ugh!!!

I am wearing long pants that are tucked in, but haven't resorted to permethrin. I think the big problem is having a dog on leash and then being around the dog. We sheared her and that makes it easier to find and remove ticks.

I am becoming reluctant to spend as much time hiking as I would like to.

[fuzz]

do a search on whiteblaze on lyme disease and you should see a few rather long ongoing posts on ticks.

[Blue Jay]

For me, ticks are plentiful from PA to CT. I can pick a hunded off in one day. I believe much of it is due body chemistry. At least twice per day run your hand over your entire body, if you use poison or not. Any small piece of dirt that does not move, must be pulled off. You get good at it after a while.

[melnooshca]

i just went on a three day hike in the smokies. my boyfriend and i walked in shorts through lots of tall, waist high (for me) grass and shrubs...i didn't find any ticks on myself, but he found about six over the course of the hike. maybe its because he doesn't shave his legs...just a guess. seems to me that the smokies are really dry for this time of year. does that have any effect on the tick population?

[Chappy]

For me, ticks are plentiful from PA to CT. I can pick a hunded off in one day. I believe much of it is due body chemistry. At least twice per day run your hand over your entire body, if you use poison or not. Any small piece of dirt that does not move, must be pulled off. You get good at it after a while.

Blue Jay: I'm not familiar with tick "season." On the section you described when does the huge infestation begin and end?

[eyahiker]

Heading to CT and MA this July, prepared to do full body checks each night........

[NewOldGuy]

Thanks for the info and the tip to read the Lymes thread. Pretty scary stuff, much worse in my mind than bears, etc. The big ticks are bad enough, but the tiny ticks are incredibly nasty.

I had already started to wear long pants tucked into socks - can be hot but I infinitely prefer that to ticks. I also am going to buy the buzz off pants and shirt, and even for day hikes, use clothing that has some permethrin (sp?).

I have purchased no-see-um gloves and am more sure of the purchase. Last walk in the woods I found 3 ticks on my hands (over a period of time).

Just picked a tick off my dog after dinner, this from a walk around the neighborhood, mostly in the middle of the street and always away from tall grass. We sheared our long haired dog for the heat and it has the side benefit of helping us spot ticks much more easily. Finding the tick sort of takes your appetite away.

Does anyone know the current status of the Lymes vaccination?

[NewOldGuy]

Did some research on the vaccination.


1) Check out the New England Journal of Medicine article

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/339/4/216

2) Here is a quote about 1 year after the NEJM article from LymeNet editors in a Position Paper

http://library.lymenet.org/domino/fi...5?OpenDocument

"Still, there is little doubt that this is generally an effective vaccine, at least over the time period studied. Yes, we wish that its performance in the first year was better. But if researchers can find a way to safely maintain high OspA antibody titers among vaccinees over the long term, it will be a major first step toward a dramatic reduction in the number of future Lyme disease cases.

2) Issues of Safety

Most vaccines have mild side effects. According to the FDA, "No prescription drug or biological product, such as a vaccine, is completely free from side effects. Vaccines protect many people from dangerous illnesses, but vaccines, like drugs, can cause side effects, a small percentage of which may be serious. The FDA continually monitors reports to determine whether any vaccine or vaccine lot has a higher than expected rate of events. About 85% of vaccine adverse event reports concern relatively minor events, such as ordinary fevers or redness and swelling at the injection site" [16]

According to the SmithKline Beecham investigators, significantly more vaccine than placebo recipients in the LYMErix study had reactions typically associated with vaccination - local soreness and swelling at the injection site, or systemic symptoms such as fever, chills and myalgias. Most of these were mild to moderate in severity. After thirty days, no significant differences in type (or frequency) of symptoms were recorded between the two groups."



UNFORTUNATELY a more current document states the following (basically the vaccine has been withdrawn for economic and litigation reasons and research for better drugs is underway)

http://www.future-drugs.com/summery....05&submit=txt2
Progress and controversy surrounding vaccines against Lyme disease
MS Hanson & R Edelman

Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy 2(5),683–703 (2003)

Less than 20 years elapsed between the 1982 report of the identification and isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi and the licensure and marketing in the USA of a prophylactic vaccine against this pathogen. However, the manufacturer removed the vaccine from the market under 4 years after its release. The low demand undoubtedly was the result of limited efficacy, need for frequent boosters, the high price of the vaccine, exclusion of children, fear of vaccine-induced musculoskeletal symptoms and litigation surrounding the vaccine. Second-generation polyvalent outer surface protein (Osp)C vaccines may overcome some of these concerns but the precise antigenic components required for efficacy are uncertain. The development of the next generation of Lyme disease vaccines is in its infancy

• A monovalent recombinant subunit vaccine for Lyme disease (LD) based on Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein (Osp)A was found to be effective in the USA in 1998. • Uncertainties regarding OspA vaccine safety and autoimmunity, the durability of the protective immune response and cost effectiveness limited the market acceptance of this vaccine; as a result,its manufacture was suspended 38 months after it was licensed. • Newer insights on the basic biology of B. burgdorferi and its tick vector help explain the limited effectiveness of OspA and provide guidelines for development of newer generation vaccines that recognize the organism’s capacity for antigenic modulation and heterogeneity. • OspC has shown sufficient promise to begin clinical evaluation as a second generation LD vaccine but pivotal data on its effectiveness has not been published. • Over 20 B. burgdorferi proteins have been individually tested for vaccine effectiveness in experimental animals but no clear candidate for an improved LD vaccine has emerged. Multi - antigen combinations of these proteins may have potential but preclinical evaluation has just begun.


So unless someone has newer info, it doesn't appear that a vaccination is available.

[Streamweaver]

Note the dates on those articles.A vaccine for Lyme is no longer available ,it was discontinued ,due to side effects etc. Streamweaver

[Blue Jay]

Blue Jay: I'm not familiar with tick "season." On the section you described when does the huge infestation begin and end?

Unfortunately I don't know the answer to that. So far I've always gone through the central part of the AT during July and August (I switch up on the ends). Again a lot of it depends on body chemistry. One year I hiked with a couple who rarely got one on them, while I had them all over me. You may luck out. It never pays to worry on the AT. The things I worry about don't happen and the few problems that do happen come out of left field.

[A-Train]

I pulled one off my friend at the Denton shelter in northern Virginia two nights ago. Although they aren't prevelant in the south, i'd check every night no matter where you're hiking on the AT.

[orangebug]

I pulled one off my friend at the Denton shelter in northern Virginia two nights ago. Although they aren't prevelant in the south, i'd check every night no matter where you're hiking on the AT.

The problem with tick checks is the size of the critter and the anatomy that they seek. I know of no one who performs tick checks regularly, and know of many medical folks who joke about "Redneck Foreplay."

Particularly for Lyme disease prevention (deer tick), a better strategy is to plan a sponge/bandana bath every 2 days. There is literature suggesting Lyme disease is most likely if the tick is attached for 48 hours or longer. They are seen as fairly easily removed by abrasion with a sponge/bandana bath. This hygiene can be somewhat inconvenient, but probably much more convenient than tick checks.

Bill...

[jbwood5]

During my northbound section hike this year, I found the ticks to be particularly bad beginning around the Delaware Water Gap and up through New Jersey. The worst was on that section near the Mohican Outdoor Center up to Culvers Gap. At Brink Road Shelter, I was pulling a number of them off of me.

I use Deep Woods Off in the flat plastic spray containers (pretty light weight), plus I take a garlic tablet at least once a day. I also check myself periodically. I never had one embedded, but had a lot crawling around on my skin and clothes.

Be carefull, be aware, but don't let it ruin your hike.

Just John

[pvtmorriscsa]

Howdy All,

I guess "tick" checks are sort of second nature for me. When I was a kid living in the Colorado backcountry, I managed to get Rocky Mountain Tick Fever. I am not sure if it is similar to lyme disease, but it sucked pretty bad just the same.
Needless to say ever since than I have done "tick" checks whenever I go into the "wilds"

[Ramble~On]

On the tick subject. I just got home tonight from a three day hike.

I found more ticks on myself in the past three days than I can ever remember finding in a similar period. Guess I'll have to be watchful this year.

[Hammock Hanger]

My husband and I just got back from a kayak/camping trip. We did what we considered a very comprehensive tick check on each other. I found one lodged on the back of his hip. I seemed to be clear. A little while later I came across one in my "navel", and he was stuck tight. Then later as I was on the computer I found 3 more almost microscopic on my arm. With my freckles and skin color it was impossible to see them during the check and wouldn't have even found them if they hadn't been on the move...

So check and double check... have someone look places you can't if you have someone who is that close to you !! Sue/HH