Lyme Disease prevention

1. Lyme Disease Prevention Program
Kathleen F Kirby, RN
Special thanks to Barbara Wright
for creating this slide presentation
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2. What are Tick Borne Diseases?
Several diseases can be acquired from an infected tick’s bite
during it’s blood meal.
Lyme Disease
Babesiosis
Ehrlichoiosis
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3. What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection
that is caused by the spirochete
Borreliaburgdorferi.
This organism attacks various organ
systems in the body.
Nervous System: Bell’s
Palsy, meningitis (stiff neck), and
severe headaches
Skeletal System: Swelling at joints
(particularly the knee joint), migratory
joint pain, and arthritis.
Circulatory System: Heart Block and
arrhythmias
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4. Lyme Disease Symptoms
Symptoms typically appear 2-3 days after the bite of a tick.
Early symptoms may include one or more of the following:
Expanding Fatigue
“bull’s eye” Headaches
rash Muscle
Flu-like aches
symptoms Joint pain
Fever
Malaise
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5. Examples of the characteristic Bull’s Eye Rashes
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6. Lyme Disease Symptoms
Late Symptoms of Lyme may include:
Nerve damage: Bell’s Palsy
Encephalopathy: Brain
Damage
Meningitis: neck
stiffness, headache
Heart abnormalities:
arrhythmia, heart block
Joints: severe joint pain or
swelling
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7. Lyme Disease in the United States
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8. 8

9. Lyme Disease
in New Jersey
2010 New Jersey Reportable Communicable
Disease Report shows
3712 cases of Lyme Disease
January 1, 2010- January 1, 2011
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10. Lyme Disease is on the Rise
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11. What is Babesiosis?
A malaria like illness
caused by the parasite
genus, babesia, that
attacks red blood cells. It
can be passed by a tick
bite with other tick-borne
infections, including
borrelia, the bacteria that
is the cause of Lyme
disease.
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12. Babesiosis Symptoms
Nonspecific “flu-like” symptoms such as:
Fever Loss of appetite
Chills Nausea
Drenching night sweats Fatigue
Body Aches Headache
Symptoms can occur one to six weeks after a tick bite.
Babesiosis is less common than Lyme disease.
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13. What is Erlichiosis?
Erlichiosis is a disease
caused by several
bacterial species of the
genus Erlichia.Erlichia
attacks the white blood
cells in the body.
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14. Types of Erlichiosis
There are 2 types of Erlichiosis described in the United
States.
1) Human MonocyticErlichiosis (HME): transmitted by the
Lone Star tick.
2) Human Granulocytic Erlichiosis (HGE): transmitted by
the black legged tick and the western black legged tick.
HGE is now referred to as Anaplasmosis.
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15. Erlichiosis (Anaplasmosis) Sypmtoms
Severe headaches
Sudden high fever
Fatigue
Muscle aches
Nausea
Rash
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16. Erlichiosis (Anaplasmosis) Sypmtoms
(cont’d.)
Severe cases of Anaplasmosis may result in:
Low white blood cells
Low platelet counts
Kidney failure
Death
Symptoms usually appear 3 – 16 days after a tick bite.
Anaplasmosis is less common than lyme disease.
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17. Erlichiosis in the United States
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18. Are There Any Vaccines?
There was a vaccine for lyme disease several years
ago but it is no longer available
If you have been vaccinated for lyme disease, you are
no longer protected.
There are no vaccines presently available for any of
the tick borne illnesses so prevention is the key.
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19. What Do Ticks Look Like?
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Black Legged Tick

20. Deer Tick
also known as Black Legged Tick
Adult Female: reddish
brown, size of a sesame
seed
Adult Male: slightly small
than female, completely
dark brown
Nymph: size comparable to
a poppy seed
Larva: size smaller than a
pin head
Larva cannot transmit lyme
disease
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21. American Dog Tick
Reddish brown coloring
Silver-gray markings on
back
female
Move around vigorously
May cause Rocky Mountain
Fever but it is not known to
carry the lyme disease
bacteria
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22. Lone Star Tick
Conspicuous white
marking on back
Reddish-brown color
More circular in shape
Elongated mouth parts
May transmit erlichiosis
or STARI (Souther Tick-
Associated Rash Illness)
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23. Engorged versus
non-engorged lone star tick
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24. Engorged deer tick
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25. Life Cycle of Tick
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26. When am I most likely to get a tick
borne illness?
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27. Where do ticks live
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28. Tick removal
How to remove a tick
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure.
Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain
in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers.
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29. Follow up care
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the
bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol,
an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
Record where on your body the bite occurred
and the date of the tick bite.
If you develop a rash or fever within several
weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Tell
the doctor the area where you think you picked
up the tick. 29

30. Tick removal don’ts
Don’t squeeze or rupture tick
Don’t pour kerosene or nail polish remover on
tick
Don’t cover the tick with petroleum jelly
Don’t use a smoldering match or cigarette butt
to remove tick
Don’t use anything else that might traumatize
the tick
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31. How do you avoid getting a tick bite
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32. BLAST Program Foundation
The BLAST acronym is based on
the most effective prevention
practices found in recent research.
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33. BL A S T
Bathe or
shower
soon after
you come
indoors.
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34. B LAST
Look
for ticks
and
rashes.
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35. BL AST
Apply
repellents
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36. BLA T s
Spray the edges
of your yard.
A single
perimeter spray
for tick control
once in the
Spring can
reduce the
number of ticks
by 80% to 90%
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37. BLAS T
•Treat your pets.
•Check your pets for
ticks after coming
indoors.
•Ask your vet what
you can use to repel
ticks.
•Don’t sleep with you
pets. Ticks on your pet
may crawl onto you.
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38. Quiz Time!
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39. B Bathe
L Look
Great
A Job!
Apply
S Spray
T Treat
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40. Follow these directions and you
may lower your chances of being
infected with Lyme Disease.
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41. Works Cited
 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/lyme/pre/in_the_yard
 Food and Drug Administration, June 20, 2011
Sanjai Kuman, chief of laboratory of emerging pathogens
 Lyme Disease Association, August 9, 2009
www.lymediseaseassociation.org
 National Institute of Health, 2010
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42. Works Cited continued
 New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents
 National Pesticide Information Center
npic.orst.edu/pest/tick/lyme
 Ridgefield, Ct Health Department,
Jennifer Reid, Community Program Coordinator
www.ridgefieldct.org
 tickinfo.com
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