Re: [MDOsprey] tick ID (?)_ after birding
Emily Joyce (ejoyce@toad.net)
Thu, 15 Jul 1999 20:21:06 -0400
Robert, here are three URLs for good information on Lyme
disease. Maryland is one of the "hot spots" for it, but if you
only had it attached to you for less than 24 hours you should
be okay. Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to be informed. Birders
are, by virtue of where they play, more likely than the average
person to encounter it. Deer are not the only hosts, either.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/lyme/lymeinfo.htm
http://www0.delphi.com/child/lyme.html
http://www.aldf.com/
I've had one bout with Lyme and decided when the vaccine came
out to get the shots. No side effects noted.
Emily Joyce
Crownsville, MD
Robert Weiner wrote:
> cybirders,
>
> can anyone provide advice regarding possible a deer tick found after
> birding? I birded the Huntley Meadows area (hardwood forest, fresh-water
> marsh) in Northern VA on saturday, and tonight removed what looked like a
> deer tick. I've never seen one, but it is about the size and color of a
> pencil point, metallic dark gray.
>
> After removal (which was easy), the tick (?) walked away, leaving a small
> bump that itched mildly like a mosquito bite. Inspection revealed two
> more such bumps, about 1 cm apart. My experience is limited to dog ticks,
> which never walk away after removal, which usually entails killing them.
>
> Should I be concerned about lyme disease? Is there anywhere I can find
> out about its incidence in the area? What should I look out for? Can the
> tick (which I put in a plastic container) itself provide any useful info?
> I had experienced some severe, brief chills a few hours before finding it,
> which for me is unusual in summer, but had attributed them to either an
> incipient cold or the unseasonably cool weather here the last few days
> (75-80, rather than 85-90)!_
>
> I suppose the tick could have come from my yard, which is highly urban,
> but the nearest deer (and fox) are only about a mile away, in Rock Creek
> park, and squirrels are abundant, raccoons, skunks, and opossums
> occasional.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated. thanks, and sorry for any cross-posting.
>
> Robert Weiner (rweiner@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu)
> George Washington University
> Washington DC 20052
> 202 994 5981