A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky.
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At top, the female lone star tick exhibits a “star”
on her back (CDC image), and above, the male is
black and red (Erik Kartis via Unsplash.com).
It’s tick season and public health officials are urging caution over a wider region of the country, particularly with respect to the lone star tick with a bite that can cause a red-meat allergy, or Alpha-Gal Syndrome. While the risk is still believed to be low, Maggie Astor reports in the New York Times that the spread of alpha-gal has increased in recent years due to a “warmer climate, land use changes and growing deer populations.”
Residents of the Northeast should be more concerned about blacklegged ticks and the spread of Lyme disease, Astor reports, but being aware is important still. The lone star is prevalent mainly in the South. Experts quoted in the story note the aggressive nature of lone star ticks, which “seek people out by sensing carbon dioxide … and may travel a few meters in pursuit.” Blacklegged ticks generally wait for contact.
For Stateline.org, Amanda Wartford reports an increase in emergency room visits for tick bites this year, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “This year’s current figures are preliminary and subject to change, but if they hold, this year’s rate may be the highest since 2017.” More states are increasing their monitoring of tick bites, so public health officials can make more accurate predictions.
Due to warmer weather across the country, tick season is expected to last into the fall.
As spring turns into summer, more ticks are hitching rides on socks, shoes, pant legs and hairdos. The tiny vectors bite thousands of people each year and spread diseases such as alpha-gal syndrome, Lyme disease, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But there is hope. Researchers are asking people to share their tick bites and discoveries on The Tick App so that their habits can be better understood and more effective preventive practices can be developed. The Tick App also gives tips for identifying and removing ticks.
The Northeast isn't known as a rice-growing mecca, but as the region's climate changes, some farmers are giving the crop a try. "Around New York and beyond, weather has shifted to become more extreme, bringing intense rainfall and hailstorms that could damage crops," reports Alice Sun for Offrange. Rice paddies are flood-resistant, able to withstand extreme weather, and the crop fetches a good price. Researchers at Cornell University, along with some "pioneering farmers are working to make it a more common crop in the Northeast, as a buffer for farmers to adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather."
Maria isn't sure about Elmo's reasoning. (Sesame Street photo)
Fans of "Sesame Street," past or present, may want to watch the new documentary tracing the life and career of actress Sonia Manzan, better known as the character "Maria." As Maria, Manzan became the first Latina to appear on a regular TV series, reports Greg Toppo of The74. The film travels back to Manzan's difficult upbringing in the South Bronx during the 1950s, follows her big break with the musical Godspell, and includes her adventures with Oscar the Grouch and Elmo on Sesame Street. The film is currently touring at film festivals throughout the spring and summer.
Even dancing from a sitting position is considered healthy movement. (Photo by E. Marritz,Dance for PD)
What activity can be done while sitting or standing, creates joy and is healthy? If you thought dancing, you're correct. "Modern research is now catching up to the fact that dance is medicine, a deeply effective intervention for physical, cognitive and emotional health," reports Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful. "In a longitudinal study, seniors who took part in regular dance training fell less often and were 'physically better off and mentally fitter' than those in the control group."
It's not going to be science fiction for much longer: NASA is learning
how to farm on the moon. "As we get ready to feed astronauts on the Moon
and Mars, NASA scientists are figuring out how to build soil from
scratch," reports Lela Nargi for Offrange. "Ralph Fritsch, a NASA retiree and lead subject matter expert for the Mars to Table challenge,
which seeks to identify plausible 'surface habitat food systems,'
believes space ag will probably start with hydroponics. . . . Although
Fritsch believes dirt-based space greenhouses are years from fruition,
there’s still been heavy investment in research."
Everyone asks about, talks about and complains about the weather -- it's a shared human experience. With the exception of farmers, who are also weather obsessed, few people might glamorize meteorologists. Until now. "Meteorologists are rarely the heroes of major Hollywood movies. Never say never," writes Rebecca Hersher of NPR. "The new film 'Pressure' is a lightly fictionalized version of the actual lead-up to the D-Day invasion of France by Allied troops during World War II, and the crucial role of meteorologists in deciding when that battle would happen."
As spring arrived across much of the U.S., more people ventured outside to enjoy nature, but unfortunately, the warmer temperatures also awakened ticks. "Tick season seems to be off to a fast start, with an unusually high number of bites already reported across the country," reports Mike Stobbe of The Associated Press.
A 'questing' tick perches itself on the edge of a branch and waits for a host to walk past. (Entomology Today photo)
Although most people know that ticks are tremendously adept at attaching themselves to people and animals, many may not know why. Understanding how ticks "find" their victims can be a first line of defense, simply by knowing where to look.
Ticks seeking a host are most often found in ankle-high vegetation where they exhibit a behavior known as "questing." To quest, all ticks do is anchor themselves to the tips of grasses, leaves, or shrubs and extend their front legs and wait for an animal or human to walk by, according to Entomology Today. Ticks also like to "link" together, so they can fall on a host in a chain, bite and feed.
The risk of disease can be reduced if ticks are found early and removed immediately. "It’s not necessary to go to a doctor unless you think the tick has been on you for days or if you develop a rash or other symptoms," Stobbe reports.
Cases of suspected alpha-gal syndrome based on confirmed laboratory evidence. (CDC map via The Conversation)
Despite being unable to jump or fly, ticks are surprisingly good at hiding in vegetation and attaching to people as they walk or hike past. When a tick attaches to a person's flesh and begins to suck blood, the tick injects its saliva -- and anything it contains -- into the person's body. Certain ticks expel alpha-gal sugar molecules into their host's body, which can, months later, leave the person allergic to specific proteins.
"This delayed allergic reaction is called alpha-gal syndrome. While it’s commonly called the 'red meat allergy,' that nickname is misleading, because alpha-gal syndrome can cause strong reactions to many products, beyond just red meat," writes entomologist Lee Rafuse Haines for The Conversation. Dairy products, gelatin and even some prescription medications can trigger a response.
Alpha-gal syndrome isn't a disease; it's a reaction to the "alpha-gal sugar molecule [that] exists in the tissues of most mammals, including cows, pigs, deer and rabbits. But it’s absent in humans," Haines explains. "When a big dose of alpha-gal gets into your bloodstream through a tick bite, it can send your immune system into overdrive to generate antibodies against alpha-gal. In later exposure to foods containing alpha-gal, your immune system might then launch an inappropriate allergic response."
Once a person is exposed to the alpha-gal sugar protein through a tick bite, it can take months for an allergic reaction to occur. Syndrome symptoms can "range from hives or swelling to crushing abdominal pain, violent nausea or even life-threatening anaphylactic shock," Haines adds.
Alpha-gal syndrome is commonly blamed on the lone star tick bites, but other ticks can spread it as well. In North America, tick bites from the lone star tick and the black-legged tick, also called a deer tick, can cause alpha-gal syndrome. Scientists are also looking at other species of ticks found in the U.S. as possible culprits.
Even as alpha-gal syndrome spreads in the U.S., not all medical professionals have experience with it. Haines writes, "A study in 2022 found that 42% of U.S. health care practitioners had never heard of alpha-gal syndrome."
Illustration of a tick biting. (Art by Sebastian Kaulitzki, Adobe Stock)
What's to like about ticks? They are an important food source for wildlife, such as birds, lizards and bats. What's not to like? For humans, the list is long.
Ticks can carry and spread more than 12 different "disease-causing agents including toxins, allergens, bacteria, parasites and viruses," reports Pien Huang of NPR. Across the U.S., some 31 million people are bitten by ticks every year.
Although not every tick bite ends in disease, many do. "Most reported cases of vector-borne disease (including mosquitoes) come from ticks, which can carry pathogens with terrible consequences," Huang explains. "Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S., estimated to affect more than 470,000 people each year."
When it comes to ticks, working to avoid contact is the first line of defense; however, knowing what to do if you find one attached or have suspicious symptoms such as a rash is just as important.
If you find a tick attached, remove it immediately, but place it in a plastic bag or container it can't escape. Huang writes, "Identifying some key information about the tick can help determine your risks. That includes what kind of tick it is, whether it's in the nymph or adult stage and how long it's been feeding on you."
The ever-growing list of diseases ticks carry often depends on geography, although warming temperatures have led some tick species to spread into new regions. "In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered at least seven new tick-borne pathogens in the U.S.," Huang reports. "The mid-Atlantic recently saw its first fatal case of Heartland Virus."
For people heading outdoors, Huang provides this tick-avoiding guidance from CDC experts:
Do careful and frequent tick checks on yourself and your family members and pets.
If you're hiking, it helps to stay in the middle of a well-maintained trail, since ticks tend to hang out in the shrubs and foliage around the edge.
Treat outdoor clothing with permethrin, a chemical similar to chrysanthemum extracts that stops ticks from biting.
Additionally, treat your exposed skin with EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picardin, or other active ingredients that deter ticks. (Use the EPA's search tool to find one that works.)
