As Montanans look to enjoy the outdoors this spring and summer, state and local public health officials urge everyone to follow a few simple steps to prevent tick bites and related illnesses: Limit exposure to ticks, use insect repellent, and inspect yourself, gear and pets for ticks.
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials report each year thousands of people in the U.S. are bitten by ticks and become infected with a tick-borne illness.
“There’s numerous prevention measures Montanans can take to avoid tick bites while still enjoying the abundance of outdoor opportunities available in the state,” DPHHS communicable disease epidemiologist Erika Baldry said.
Over the past two decades, several new tickborne diseases that can cause illness have been identified in the U.S. Recently identified tick diseases in the U.S. include Heartland and Bourbon virus.
While these new diseases have not been reported in Montana, commonly reported tick-borne diseases in Montana include: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, tickborne relapsing fever, tularemia and Colorado tick fever virus (CTFV).
In recent years, cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and CTFV have increased in Montana. Typically, the most common tickborne illness acquired in Montana is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, with a 10-year average of eight cases reported each year. However, in 2020, Montana had 17 cases of CTFV reported, which was an increase from the average of one to two cases per year.
While the state’s tick experts continue to look, the tick that causes Lyme disease, Ixodes scapularis, has not been found in Montana. To date, all but a single case of Lyme disease reported in Montana have been associated with travel to other areas of the United States and are not believed to have been acquired in the state.
To avoid tick-borne illness, public health officials recommend:
• Avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter and walk in the center of trails when hiking.
• Use EPA-registered insect repellent.
• Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin.
• Bath or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors. Pay close attention to areas where ticks like to hide: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs and around the waist is important.
• After leaving the outdoors, check your clothing, gear and pets for ticks.
• Put dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks after you come indoors.
Common symptoms of tick-borne infections include fever and chills, aches and pains, rash and fever of varying degrees. “Although most are easily treated with antibiotics, many present with general flu-like symptoms so it’s important to communicate exposure risk to your provider [immediately],” Baldry stresses. “Early recognition and treatment of the infection decreases the risk of serious complications.”
If a tick is found and is attached, follow these steps to safely remove the tick.
1. Use fine-tipped, “pointy” tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouthparts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
4. Save the tick. If illness develops, the tick can be tested for disease and can aid in diagnosis.
For more information about tick-borne illnesses, protection and detection efforts, visit the DPHHS website at http://www.dphhs.mt.gov.
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