Avian Flu Diary: What’s The Vector, Victor?

# 4504

Florida’s State Bird?

Growing up in Florida during the 1950s and 1960s, and living aboard a sailboat for years in Florida waters, I considered mosquitoes, ticks, and biting flies to be a damnable nuisance . . . but gave little thought to their ability to transmit disease.

Living up in the midst of what was basically a half-drained swamp, you become quickly inured to some the less desirable aspects of tropical life.

With apologies to the Chamber of Commerce, we learned to accept the occasional hurricane, daily summer thunderstorms that delivered sky-to-ground lightning like a barrage of mortar shells, fearless daredevil flying cockroaches, house spiders nearly the size of saucers, and the occasional alligator trespassing in our back yards.

By far, the most common nuisance was the mosquito, although we had ticks, deer flies, horseflies - and the dreaded no-see-um’s that no window screen could deter - for variety.

We lived slathered in repellant, actually looked forward to the twice-weekly roll-by of the mosquito fogging truck emitting its oily smelling pesticide-laden brew, and quickly developed an almost Pavlovian head-slap response to the familiar ear buzz as we slept.

Mosquito eradication was big deal back in the 1950s and 1960s, with TV and radio PSAs on removing mosquito breeding habitats, and news reports on the dangers of rare, but sometimes deadly mosquito borne encephalitis, usually SLEV (St. Louis Encephalitis).

Thankfully, Malaria, Dengue, and Yellow Fever . . . once real threats in Florida . . . had been eliminated by the time I was born.

In the Florida Keys, we routinely lived slathered in 100% Deet, sat out on deck at sunset and watched an old DC-3 swoop down and fog the harbor, and repeated the lie that rum – when taken liberally – was protective against mosquito bites.

At least, we reasoned, any mosquito fool enough to bite us was in for a heck of a hangover.

One must take solace where one can.

Back then, mosquitoes were the bane of our existence, but not really considered a health hazard. A hundred mosquito bites received on a weekend camping trip was considered the price of admission to the great outdoors.

Since then, we’ve seen the emergence and spread of West Nile Virus across the United States and Canada, and the recent appearance of Dengue fever in the Florida Keys. Some researchers believe that Chikungunya may be the next mosquito borne disease to show up on our shores.

Alas, times change. New threats emerge, and our knowledge of old threats increase.

Suddenly, those mosquito bites we once viewed as being bothersome but benign may herald more serious health concerns than we previously appreciated.

With spring here, and summer on the way, protecting yourself against mosquito bites – and removing mosquito breeding opportunities – becomes all the more important.

The CDC advises:

When you are outdoors, use insect repellent containing an EPA-registered active ingredient. Follow the directions on the package.
Many mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn. Be sure to use insect repellent and wear long sleeves and pants at these times or consider staying indoors during these hours.
Make sure you have good screens on your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out.
Get rid of mosquito breeding sites by emptying standing water from flower pots, buckets and barrels. Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly. Drill holes in tire swings so water drains out. Keep children's wading pools empty and on their sides when they aren't being used.

Of course, mosquitoes aren’t the only disease vector that warmer weather brings out each year. Tick borne diseases – of which Lyme is just one of – are on the increase across the United States and around the world.

A partial list of tick borne diseases includes:

Lyme Disease
Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI)
Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever

Although there is no official census of the number of ticks in this country, many veterinarians are reporting large increases in ticks, and tick borne diseases among the animals they treat.

Explanations range from gradually warmer winters, to man’s never-ending encroachment into rural areas, to the comeback of many wildlife species like white-tail deer and wild turkeys. Whatever the reason, ticks are becoming more common – and the diseases they transmit are becoming a bigger problem.

As you can see by the chart below, in the nymph stage, ticks are not much larger than a spec of dirt. Tenacious hangers on to the skin, they can be easily missed when bathing.

The CDC recommends the following steps to prevent tick borne infections:

Avoid areas with a lot of ticks

Ticks prefer wooded and bushy areas with high grass and a lot of leaf litter. These are areas to avoid.

Take extra precautions in May, June, and July. This is when ticks that transmit Lyme disease are most active.

If you do enter a tick area, walk in the center of the trail to avoid contact with overgrown grass, brush, and leaf litter.

Ask your local health department and park or extension service about tick infested areas to avoid.

Keep ticks off your skin

Use insect repellent with 20% - 30% DEET on exposed skin and clothing to prevent tick bites. Effective repellents are found in drug, grocery and discount stores.
For more information about repellents:

About insect repellent use and safety

About repellent protection times

Permethrin is another type of repellent. It can be purchased at outdoor equipment stores that carry camping or hunting gear. Permethrin kills ticks on contact! One application to pants, socks, and shoes typically stays effective through several washings. Permethrin should not be applied directly to skin. For details on permethrin visit the National Pesticide Information Center.

Wear long pants, long sleeves, and long socks to keep ticks off your skin. Light-colored clothing will help you spot ticks more easily. Tucking pant legs into socks or boots and tucking shirts into pants help keep ticks on the outside of clothing. If you’ll be outside for an extended period of time, tape the area where your pants and socks meet to prevent ticks from crawling under your clothes.

Check your skin and clothes for ticks every day

Remove ticks from your clothes before going indoors. To kill ticks that you may have missed, wash your clothes with hot water and dry them using high heat for at least one hour.

Perform daily tick checks after being outdoors, even in your own yard. Inspect all parts of your body carefully including your armpits, scalp, and groin. Remove ticks immediately using fine-tipped tweezers.

If a tick is attached to your skin for less than 24 hours, your chance of getting Lyme disease is extremely small. But just to be safe, monitor your health closely after a tick bite and be alert for any signs and symptoms of tick-borne illness.

With roughly 20,000 new cases of Lyme disease reported each year, and undoubtedly many others that go unreported or undiagnosed, Lyme is one of the fastest growing emerging infectious diseases in the country.

Add to that STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness ), Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis and the numbers of infected each year go up considerably.

All of which illustrates the need to become more aware of the threat posed by these vicious vectors, and proactive in preventing them from passing on their diseases to you and your family.

You’ll find more on this subject in the following older blog posts: