Tick-Bone Illnesses in Iowa

Tick-Bone Illnesses in Iowa

By Jessica Graham

Spring is a time of new beginnings for a lot of Iowans. During this time, we are outside working on food plots for the 2023 season, wildlife habitat maintenance, spring fishing, spring turkey hunting and morel mushroom hunting. As we spend more time outside, we come into contact with ticks. It seems like every year while turkey hunting, I find some crawling on my clothes and skin. Several years ago, I did not think much about contacts with ticks. However, as medical knowledge grows, we are able to trace some diseases back to its origin: ticks.

Lymes Disease
Annually approximately 30,000 people contract Lymes Disease across the nation. With that said, the majority of those cases are in the northeastern parts of the U.S. and the upper Midwest. Iowa is not a hotspot for Lymes disease; however, Iowans have contracted the disease from ticks. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there were 257 Lymes Disease cases in Iowa in 2020, One of those cases was my cousin, and Iowa native. She noticed a bullseye like rash irritating her leg after a fun weekend outside.

The ticks carry and transmit bacteria causing Lymes Disease. Young, small deer ticks in particular carry the bacteria and your greatest risk for contracting Lymes Disease is from May to July in Iowa.

Lymes disease is very difficult to diagnose. It can mimic other diseases and it affects people differently. Some things you can look for include a bullseye-like irritating rash forming around a tick bite. Other symptoms can include severe headaches, muscular weakness, and fatigue. If caught early, treatment with antibiotics can lead to a full recovery. However, not everyone will recover and some will live battling symptoms of Lymes Disease.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Another disease caused by bacterial transmission from ticks is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Once infected, it takes about a week for symptoms to begin. An infected person might battle nausea, headaches, achy muscles and joints, as well as fever and chills. This is not a common disease in Iowa, 11 people were confirmed to have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in 2016, however people reported feeling miserable from this.

Celebrity hunter, Terry Drury of Drury Outdoors, spoke about his battle with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever on a Drury Outdoors podcast. It left him very ill for a while. He still feels ill and lethargic from complications of the disease and notices it flares up especially when he finds a tick attached to his skin. Terry Drury did go on to say he is meticulous about checking for ticks after hunting and being in the timber or tall grasses.

Alpha-gal Syndrome: Red Meat Allergy
I first read about a hunter developing an allergy to red meat around 10 years ago. The hunter was bit by a tick, and contracted alpha-gal syndrome. Alpha-gal syndrome makes the infected violently sick to their stomach if they consume red meat. At the time, there were just a few cases across the U.S.A.; since then, the cases have increased over 34,000. More cases likely exist because it is not common to test for alpha-gal during a standard allergy test.

At dinner one evening in West Des Moines, I met an Iowa hunter that had contracted the disease. “It is terrible to be a deer hunter and not be able to enjoy venison” he said. He had a tough time getting the diagnosis correctly as doctors overlooked the possibility of an allergy to red meat. After reading an article the hunter asked his doctor to test for Alpha-gal allergies. Sure enough, a tick bite from a hunt had transmitted Alpha-gal syndrome.

The disease is transmitted by the Lone Star tick. The Lone Star Tick is the tick that has a small white dot on its back. They are pretty common across the whole state of Iowa as well as the Southern and Eastern parts of the United States. Alpha-gal allergy symptoms can vary from an upset stomach, vomiting, rash, and trouble breathing. Some people even have allergies from cosmetics and products derived from red meat, so they have to be extra careful.

Prevention
Tick born diseases are not super common across the state of Iowa. However, they tend to have harsh symptoms and if left undiagnosed and untreated can lead to a decline in the quality of life of the infected.

Some ways to prevent contracting a tick-born illness is to wear long sleeves, pants, tall boots and socks while out in the timber and tall grass. Also, check yourself for ticks once you leave tick prevalent areas.

Some companies sell clothing treated with permethrin (a chemical derived from chrysanthemums). The chemical binds to the fibers of your clothes and can withstand several washes. Permethrin treated clothing will help deter ticks and protect you from being bit by one. You can also use natural and chemical repellents to deter ticks.

If removed promptly, it is possible to avoid transmission of the disease. Research indicates ticks need to be attached at least 24 hours to transmit Lymes disease, four hours to transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and approximately three hours to transmit Alpha-gal syndrome. If you find a tick attached, remove it as soon as you can. Fear of tick transmitted diseases should not deter you from enjoying time outside. You should, however, be observant and take the time to check and remove ticks.