DEADLY ASIAN TICK ARRIVES IN WEST VIRGINIA

A new tick arrived in the US this spring. Honestly, I first heard about it from an educated patient, versus any scientific source. So, I went in search of what I need to know and tell my patients about this new tick.

For dermatology, we most often talk about ticks because of Lyme Disease and its associated rash, but there are a variety of ticks that cause a variety of illnesses throughout the US. Most ticks and illnesses have a regional predilection, but with travel these regional boundaries are expanding. In the case of the East Asian Tick, the boundaries are expanding rapidly.

The East Asian or Long Horned Tick was originally found in China and Korea. In late fall 2017, it was first seen on livestock in New Jersey. Since then, it has spread to a number of states, arriving in West Virginia early this summer, just 6 months after it was first seen in the US. These ticks were first discovered in Hardy County in May 2018.

East Asian Ticks spread a virus and illness called Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome. Thrombocytopenia means low platelets, so the only rash would be bruising and a type of miniature bruise called petechiae. The disease does carry a very highly mortality rate and the treatment is what we call supportive, meaning we try to keep the person alive until the disease runs its course. Treatments for Lyme Disease do not work for this type of tick borne illness.

Now more than ever, we need to protect against tick bites and do thorough tick checks. To learn more about insecticides and which protect best for ticks, see our prior article referenced below. If you discover a tick or are bitten by one, keep it just in case. Place the tick in a ziploc or plastic container with the date and put in the freezer for reference. Please note, these ticks are SELF REPLICATING and multiply quickly, so it is important to kill any of them you find.

See our prior articles about Tick Bites and Insect repellents to learn more about how to recognize and protect yourself from Tick Borne Illnesses.

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