Central New York’s leading tick expert is predicting an early and heavy tick season ahead, and a few warm days recently were enough to bring ticks out of their winter slumber.
Dr. Saravanan Thangamani, head of Upstate Medical University’s tick lab, knows first hand that they're around, after a tick bit his son in a local park while he was playing volleyball.
"He went to grab the ball probably into, I would say, along the edges of the volleyball court," said Thangamani. "So it actually got underneath his long sleeve dress, and then it bit through, and he felt a little bit of itchy. And then when he looked at it he was a tick bite."
Thangamani said the numbers back up his family's experience, with Upstate’s tick lab receiving 69% more tick submissions this year, than the same time last year. With temperatures warming up as we move further into spring, Thangamani expects those numbers to climb.
"During the winter, they try to hide underneath the snow or pile of snow or pile of grass or pile of dry leaves just to find one place for it to winter," he said. "As soon as the snow melts away, they slowly come outside and then wait for a suitable host to attach on."
Thangamani’s research shows one in three ticks carry bacteria that causes disease, including Lyme Disease and Anaplasmosis. Looking deeper into the numbers, he finds most tick bit submissions involve young children.
"35.4%, to be precise, of the ticks that we are getting in the lab were on kids less than 10 years old," he said.
Further preliminary study shows a large number of bites occur while people are gardening or trail walking. Thangamani said people shouldn’t panic, but they should be prepared. Using tick repellant, avoiding areas where ticks congregate, and checking for ticks after coming inside can help. He said antibiotic treatment early after a tick bite prevents disease.
"So combination of prevention and post exposure is very important," he said.
Click here for information on how to submit a tick for testing.
