News

Ticks out: Preventing the spread of Lyme disease

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – Check yourself; remove ticks from your skin.

The 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron’s Public Health Flight and the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Entomology shop are mitigating the prevalence of Lyme disease-carrying ticks on Dover AFB, but it is up to each individual to take steps to protect themselves, their family members and their pets from the threat Lyme disease poses.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, and can be transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis). These are also frequently called deer ticks.

“Lyme disease can be easily treated if caught early,” said Dr. (Lt. Col.) Douglas Riley, 436th AMDS Public Health Flight commander. “But if it is not treated adequately, it can lead to diseases of the nervous system and heart, and eventually arthritis and worsening of the neurological diseases.”

Impact on the individual can range from no outward signs to fever, rash and generally just not feeling well, commonly referred to as stage one. However, over time this can enter into stage two and three where you have neurological disease, cardiac issues, and the classic Lyme arthritis which was first described in 1975 in Lyme, Connecticut. The issue is that if the disease is not treated or treated correctly it can have life-long impact and result in persistent neurological and arthritic issues.

If you believe that you have been bitten by a tick and start to feel symptoms, please seek medical attention.

According to Riley, Lyme disease is not just a people disease but also impacts our “other” family members, such as dogs. They have very similar disease signs as people, and it is equally important to make sure they are treated correctly.

“Dover AFB Public Health Flight engages with 436th CES Entomology for vector control,” Riley said. “Our partners off base include Delaware Departments of Public Health, Emergency Management and Plans, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, all Delaware hospitals, the University of Delaware Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Services, Department of Homeland Security, local veterinarians and local industry to include the poultry industry and the Center for Disease Control.”

Entomology is responsible for limiting the number of ticks on base.

“We spray for ticks on base,” said Kenneth Barnes, 436th CES Entomology pest control foreman. “But it’s impossible to spray everywhere.”

Entomology works to stay ahead of where they know large groups of people will be gathering. An example includes the upcoming Thunder Over Dover Open House in late August, where they will spray for ticks and other insects in the grassy parking lots where the attendees will park.

“Nothing is 100 percent,” said Barnes. “The chemical has to contact that specific animal. Nothing in entomology or pest management is 100 percent, you’ll never eradicate an insect. All you can ever do is get them to a manageable level.”

There are examples of Airmen on Dover AFB contracting the disease. In summer 2015, Master Sgt. Jamie Beard, 436th Maintenance Squadron first sergeant, an avid mountain biker, felt himself come down with an illness.

“I first realized something was wrong when I was going to change my car’s tire,” he said. “I carried a tire jack up only three stairs and I was completely out of breathe. That just isn’t normal for me.”

Beard’s symptoms continued to worsen and were flu-like. But he naturally believed that he would recover from the ailment in a few days. But this did not happen.

“I couldn’t recover from it,” he said. “Two or three weeks had passed. I was shaking, I lost my appetite, I had weight loss and really bad body aches.”

Beard went and was tested for Lyme disease. The healthcare providers caught the disease early and placed him on a regiment of drugs to fight the disease and its symptoms.

“From the start of treatment, it took two months to completely recover and feel 100 percent again,” said Beard. “Overall, it was almost a three-month ordeal.”

Beard and his providers determined that he contracted Lyme disease from a tick while mountain biking in northern Delaware.

“I’m now very aware of it and its prevalence in this area,” Beard said. “It’s supposed to be a bad year for it.”

But the ordeal hasn’t deterred Beard from mountain biking. He continues to go to the same state park where he contracted the disease, but now takes additional steps to mitigate the risk of a second contraction.

“Now when I mountain bike, I wear long sleeve shirts and long pants,” he said. “I always check myself and my kids for ticks after we leave the woods.“

Unlike viral infections, Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria and can be reintroduced into a body, leading to a second contraction.

“Ticks and Lyme disease sucks,” said Beard. “I never thought it would happen to me. I’ve heard of it happening to other people, but didn’t think I would get it. I hope I never get it again; it was horrible.”

For more information on ticks, Lyme disease, its symptoms and its prevention, please visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html.