Residents warned to watch out for ticks

The region’s health districts are advising residents to guard against ticks, which are responsible for several cases of relapsing fever in Eastern Washington and North Idaho this summer.

“We encourage people to take precautions to reduce the risk of tick-borne disease,” said Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District.

The same kind of weather that attracts people to the outdoors this time of year attracts ticks to outdoor enthusiasts.

Three people have contracted relapsing fever in North Idaho since May – two in Kootenai County and one in Bonner County, said Dave Hylsky, epidemiologist for the Panhandle Health District. All recovered without long-term problems. Patients with the illness have high fevers that spontaneously abate and then happen again.

Hylsky said it is not uncommon to see a few cases of relapsing fever this time of year.

“We get anywhere from none to seven a year,” he said.

The Spokane Regional Health District reported two cases of the illness in the past couple of weeks after reporting none last year. The Washington Department of Health reported two other cases in Eastern Washington this summer, both in Whitman County.

Two types of ticks are known to carry disease in the region.

Soft ticks transmit Borreli hermsii, the spirochete that causes relapsing fever and is found in rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks and mice. Found in cabins and wooded areas, these ticks feed at night and then drop off their host so people may not know they have been bitten, the health districts said.

Fever, chills, headache and muscle ache can result four to 18 days after being bitten by a soft tick. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and rash. The symptoms may continue for several days before disappearing only to return again within a week.

The symptoms commonly reoccur up to five or six times, and medical treatment is encouraged.

Hard ticks, which burrow under the skin of humans and animals, can potentially transmit tick paralysis or, less frequently, Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Sometimes called wood or dog ticks, they are more frequently found outdoors in woods, tall grass and brushy areas.

Tick paralysis occurs when a hard tick releases nerve poison into the victim’s bloodstream while feeding. Symptoms include numbness followed by weakness in the legs.

“Paralysis ascends and progresses, impacting muscles used in swallowing, speech and breathing,” according to the Spokane Regional Health District. Symptoms diminish within hours to days after removing the tick.

Other tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, Q fever and Colorado tick fever are extremely rare in the region, the health district said.