(Fairmont, Mn.)– The earlier than normal arrival of spring is giving a jump start to wood ticks.
The Mayo Clinic Health System says the warmer than normal weather earlier this spring caused an increase in adult female and young black legged ticks, which are disease carriers. The most common tick-borne diseases in our region are Lyme disease and human anaplasmosis (annuh-plas-moh’-sis). Symptoms include fever, headache, irregular heartbeat and joint pain. Most patients infected with Lyme disease experience a circular rash.
Officials say the best way to avoid ticks is to check yourself and others…especially if you’ve been in wooded or grassy areas. They say lawns should be mowed short, that arms and legs should be covered with long clothing, and to wear an insect repellent containing DEET.
Over the past decade, 1,000 to 2,000 or more combined cases of tick-borne diseases each year have been reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. And officials say those numbers have been increasing in recent years.
