As ticks come to Kansas, Kansans come with solutions
With the warm arrival of summer, comes a less inviting reminder that tick season is back and the little bugs are bigger than ever. The number of tick-borne illnesses have been steadily increasing for 20 years, according to a 2018 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kansas has experienced a similar trend, with 308 total cases of tick-borne illnesses reported in 2019 compared with 13 in 2004, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
There are several efforts in Kansas to prevent tick-borne diseases, including a vaccine being developed at K-State and the testing for two new products at a golf course in Overland Park.
Ticks spread a number of diseases that can cause hospitalization and even death. In Kansas the primary concerns are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, which all can all cause fever, chills, fatigue, nausea, or muscle aches within a week or two of being bitten by an infected tick. Also of concern is tularemia, a more rare illness, which typically causes an ulcer to form around the tick bite, accompanied by a high fever and swollen lymph glands in the armpits or groin.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most common tick-borne disease in the state, with 209 cases reported last year, up from zero in 2004.
Severe fatigue and flu-like symptoms
Tim Wines, a self described avid outdoorsman from Eskridge, knows all too well the consequences of being bitten by ticks. During his annual hunts for morel mushrooms, Wines contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever in 2018 and Lyme disease in 2019.
Wines first noticed a rash over his arms, almost like pimples, in 2018. He first thought they came from the thorny Gooseberry bushes near the morels he was picking, but his wife insisted he get tested.
A blood test revealed that he had Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
“Next thing I know, I’ve got the CDC and the Health Departments from both Pottawattomie and Wabaunsee county calling me,” Wines said. “The tick died in a fiery death. I built a bonfire and laid the tick on a log. I laid the log in the middle of the fire to make sure he had no escape.”
While he experienced severe fatigue and flu-like symptoms, Wines was able to get treatment before he was left with any long-term symptoms.
Linnette Lee, a Wichita artist who runs Fresh Paint Artist, contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever last June and wasn’t so lucky. She still periodically takes antibiotics for it and has to be retested for it in the fall. She encourages people to watch out for the “sneaky little bugs” and take careful note of symptoms.
“Fatigue is often the first sign,” Lee said. “I had extreme weakness in my legs...I thought maybe I needed sugar, again ignoring all the signs, so I walked into QuikTrip. I felt so bad I passed out.”
A growing problem
The lone star tick and the black-legged tick, which carry the illnesses, have expanded their habitat over the past several decades. They can now be found in every county in Kansas, but especially in the eastern part of the state, according to the CDC. The reason for this spread isn’t known, but is likely related to climate changes, which have made the region more hospitable to ticks.
The growth of suburban areas means that people also are more likely to come into contact with ticks, as well as wild animals that can harbor ticks, like mice and deer. Spending more time outside also increases potential exposure to ticks.
“A lot of people, because of COVID-19, have been getting out more,” said Ingrid Garrison, Kansas state public health veterinarian. “That may be exposing them, especially if people aren’t as familiar with the outdoors or that particular area, and they may not realize that there are indeed ticks there.”
New tick-borne germs are also emerging in the Midwest. One new sickness is the Bourbon virus, which was discovered in 2014 in Bourbon County, Kansas. A similar illness known as the Heartland virus was first discovered in Missouri in 2009, and cases have also been reported in Kansas.
Because tick-borne illnesses are difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone, the Centers for Disease Control recommends seeing a doctor if you feel sick and have spent time in wooded or brushy areas within the last few weeks.
Don’t wait to see a rash before you go to the doctor – the “bulls-eye” rash characteristic of Lyme disease does not appear in all patients, and the spotted rash associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever may not appear for weeks. Most tick-borne diseases can be treated with antibiotics, but delaying medical attention can lead to hospitalization, permanent symptoms or damage, and even death.
A new vaccine?
Dr. Roman Ganta, professor and director of the Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases at Kansas State University, spent the past 20 years researching ways to fight tick-borne diseases. In June, he received a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Health to develop a vaccine for ehrlichiosis.
Ehrilichiosis has been on the rise in Kansas, with 47 cases last year compared to a single case in 2004.
“It’s a treatable disease, but difficult to diagnose,” said Jere McBride, a professor of pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch who studies ehrlichiosis. “If therapy isn’t initiated early in the disease, people can go downhill pretty quickly.”
A vaccine could help protect people before they get bitten. To develop the vaccine, Ganta’s research group is using a genetic technique that creates a weakened form of the bacteria that causes ehrlichiosis. The weakened mutant can’t cause sickness, but it can train the body’s immune response and protect against future infections.
This approach can be adapted for different hosts, because a variety of tick-borne diseases that affect humans, pets, and livestock are caused by bacteria with similar genetics.
Currently, the vaccine has been effective in dogs, but it isn’t yet available for widespread use. The next step is to develop a human version of the vaccine.
Ganta also plans to develop a vaccine for bovine anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease that poses a major threat to cattle health in every Kansas agricultural district.
“It is all interconnected,”Ganta said. “The ultimate goal is solving the problem for people, solving the problem for dogs, and solving the problem for cattle.”
Public health efforts
Public health agencies also play a key role in efforts against tick-borne illnesses. In Kansas, the Department of Health and Environment records diagnoses of tick-borne diseases in each county to map their spread.
Starting next year, KDHE also will begin proactively sampling for ticks and testing them for diseases, in partnership with the Kansas Biological Survey. This technique, known as active surveillance, will allow KDHE to learn more about the spread of tick-borne diseases before people actually get sick.
They also are planning to expand their physician education program and update their website so that information about tick-borne diseases is more easily accessible to the public.
Awareness and prevention
The best way to avoid the diseases that ticks spread is to not get bitten by a tick, which is where awareness and prevention are imperative.
Two new all-natural tick repellent products were tested last summer at Shadow Glen Golf Club in Overland Park, Kansas with relative success, according to a Think Trust Products spokesperson. Employees noticed an immediate reduction in the number of ticks they found on their bodies and on the animals.
Think Trust Products developed a lotion for humans that lasts 48 hours and a mineral feed for cattle, deer and horses that will protect them from getting ticks and reduce the likelihood of them transferring to humans.
Before Wines got sick with Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease, he didn’t like to use DEET. Now he takes every precaution and even soaks his clothes in permethrin, to make sure to keep the ticks away. Before using it, Wines said he would regularly come back from a hike with 7 to 12 ticks attached.
When going outdoors, people should also consider taking extra clothing to change into before getting into their vehicle. Wines said he had multiple experiences of finding ticks in his truck that traveled in with him on his clothes and then bit him later when he wasn’t wearing bug spray or clothes that had been soaked in permethrin.
Even those who aren’t hiking, should still look for tick bites after spending time outdoors. Cassie Calhoon, who recently graduated from Emporia State with two M.S. degrees in art therapy and clinical psychology, caught Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever while standing on a porch near a wooded area. She went to the hospital four days after she started feeling ill.
“It was the most excruciating pain that I have ever gone through,” Calhoon said. “I never recovered full mobility in my neck when turning to the left. My bones ache more than they used to, and certainly more than they should for a 25-year-old.”
The threat of tick-borne illnesses doesn’t mean that Kansans should stop spending time outdoors, Garrison said.
“We want people to be aware, not afraid.”
This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
