Link

I wonder if this is similar to the African version?

Many of the tick bite fevers are caused by similar organisms, rickettsia. On the ones that I was involved with, symtoms tended to be similar, but severity varied tremendously, based on both the type of infection and the individual's immune response. We saw this one in the NE quite a few years ago, but couldn't get anybody's attention. Those in the field have been yelling from soap boxes for a number of years about babesiosis, but vector borne disease just isn't that exciting to most people. My wife's response is typical, 'Nobody cares", as she rolls her eyes.For protection, the same rules apply here, wear repellants, light colored clothes, and/or permethrin your clothes, or, option B, find a lovely to check you thoroughly for ticks, you might want to check her thoroughly as well, you just can't be too careful.
Bfly

I strongly advise all of you to take Tick bite prevention as serious as Malaria. I have friends bitten here and abroad that to this day are dealing with various illness. Those that heeded my recommendations: no bites. Some of this stuff can kill you if untreated or misdiagnosed and some diseases will make you wish you were dead. Don't fool around, do what it takes...period!

Ticks go through several life stages to reach adulthood. It is often the smaller life stages, that transmit the disease. These ticks are often so small that even if you are looking, you may miss them. These diseases are often very difficult to detect and are often misdiagnosed, because they are relatively uncommon. When found, it sometimes takes a series of treatments over a significant period to resolve. Side effects can be extremely serious in a small percentage of cases.
We used to see a few cases of imported malaria each year across the US, but we saw hundreds of cases of various tick borne diseases each year.
I've interviewed way too many people who had lost significant heart function, mobility, and life style functions as a result of rickettsial diseases.
As David says, take appropriate precautions.
Bfly

If babesiosis is on the rise here, I sincerely hope our modern medical establishment handles this a hell of a lot better than they've handled Lyme. My mother has Lyme and it took three doctors till she found someone willing to treat her. That's crazy.

Most people never consider that we still have bug borne diseases in the US that will kill if you don't treat them. And unfortunately, it seems that a lot of them go unnoticed till its too late.

Ticks suck, both here and abroad!

I buy a big pump spray bottle of permethrin before every African hunt and spray all my socks, hats, pants and shirts (and gaiters, too). The stuff is advertised to last through 6 washings, so (allegedly) it's good for a whole safari.

I also do the same with my South Georgia hunting clothes 'cause we have lots of disease-bearing ticks down here. We lost a niece to Rocky Mountain spotted fever about 13 years ago. The bite was above the hairline on the back of her neck and wasn't discovered by her physician until too late.

The little girl went to school with no complaints, came home early with a headache, slept well that night, went to the doctor the next morning and even though the diagnosis was immediate, she died two days later.

I got some brand of tick fever in Tanzania one year and even with treatment, for two weeks I felt like I'd been put in a clothes dryer for a couple of cycles. Sore, headaches, lethargic and just plain beat up. It ain't fun.

Haven't had it since and perhaps the permethrin has helped. Can't hurt, either, I suppose and for a few bucks, why not? You can bet your bippy that I sprayed the heck out of my daughter's clothes for our safari (in 7 days!!!)

Source for bulk permethrin

I also take Bull Frog Mosquito Coast with me and use it both for a sunscreen and bug dope. It keeps the sunburn risk in check (particularly if you use doxycycline for malaria prophylaxis) and seems to repel various biting bugs too.

My ex spent Christmas in ICU between life and death after she got a bite at the back of the head from a very small tick a few months before that she thought was a small clot that disappeared after a shower.
scary..I check my two cats regularly and find one twice a month at least.

Got my attention! We moved to acreage in the woods and the number of ticks here is sobering. I typically find two a week on my scalp, although I have yet to be bitten that I know of. Most of the ticks seem to be brown dog ticks, fairly large with a white pattern on the center of the back. But I have also found a smaller all-brown tick, which I believe to be a deer tick. And yes, we have Lyme here in Southern Oregon, but I don't think we have babeseosis yet.

I haven't even left yet and I am starting to feel bugs and ticks on me.. You can bet my stuff will be sprayed with permethrin, a good dose of it before I pack them this weekend. I got my Doxy in my bag as well. When I was younger I never gave these things a second thought, bullet proof in those days. Now I am looking for spiders, scorpions, ticks, snakes,bees, wasps, mosquitos etc. Barely time to look for a nice Kudu!
On my last trip over the guy siting next to me got on in Dafur with long robes, no bath, etc,, local guy etc.,,, fleas were jumping off him and onto me. I just knew I was going to catch the plague or something. I wanted to grap the bottle of insectecide they sprayed the plane with and give him a good going over. I know there are risks in the field,,, but,, I never thought I would have to worry on the flight over!!!

Friends; be very careful not to get some chemicals on your skin. In high enough doses, they can be fatal or cause serious side effects. All can be absorbed by the skin and stored in your liver. Some of these Permethrin's are high doses (on JudgeG's link) and are not to be applied to skin, even indirectly. Once again I will advise all that Coulston's Duranon Permanone is one of the best (I consider it the best) available. Clothing only! I had an allergic reaction to Ben's 100 Deet some years ago so now I'm careful to not use anything over 10% Deet, and rarely use that. Coulston's kills ticks and any other biting insect that crawls over your clothes. Many other brands will only make ticks sluggish or repel them.
LDK

It is a protozoan, a sporozoan, a parasite.
Back in the late 1970's, in first year med school Microbiology class at U. of KY,
one of my lecturers was Harold W. Brown, M.D., Sc.D., Dr. P.H., L.H.D.(Hon.), L.L.D. (Hon.).
He wrote the book: Basic Clinical Parasitology
He left us with a final bit of advice at the end of his lecture: "Think parasites."

Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina were noted to produce "the important disease Texas cattle fever."
Babesia: "... are parasites of the red blood cell. Babesia has been reported from man only a few times, primarily in those who have been splenectomized."

My, how things have changed.
Add B. microti et al to the list.
Ixodes ticks spread it, that is the deer tick genus.

Babesiosis is often confused with malaria, mimicking P. falciparum in its febrile illness, and even microscopically on the peripheral blood smear.

Here are a couple of excerpts from a pocket guide,
"The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy,"
doxycycline won't cover this one:

So how come usually it is on the head? Is there a season that is worse than others? I'm taking my kids camping this weekend in the sierra's, and my dogs, but my dogs have been treated for fleas and ticks (first of every month). I have some deet spray but it's probably higher than 10% so maybe I should get something weaker for my 3 and 5yo?

I'm pretty bad myself, unless I see mosquitos I don't wear repellent, but have never had a tick on myself either (I don't think they can latch onto steel anyways )

On getting a "friend" to help check, is that something that should be practiced frequently prior to trips to make sure you both know what to look for?

Red

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
So how come usually it is on the head? Is there a season that is worse than others? I'm taking my kids camping this weekend in the sierra's, and my dogs, but my dogs have been treated for fleas and ticks (first of every month). I have some deet spray but it's probably higher than 10% so maybe I should get something weaker for my 3 and 5yo?

I'm pretty bad myself, unless I see mosquitos I don't wear repellent, but have never had a tick on myself either (I don't think they can latch onto steel anyways )

On getting a "friend" to help check, is that something that should be practiced frequently prior to trips to make sure you both know what to look for?

Red

The treatments you put on a dog's skin most work after the tick bites the dog, Use permetherin in addtion to the dermal compounds , to repel or kill before feeding. Check with your vet, new products are comeing out all the time. A buddy lost a very good DD to a tick borne virus even though it was on the skin applied product, the tick had to feed to get a dose of the stuff and it spead the virus
on the first bite.

JD

A friend recently contracted what doctors eventually decided was a tick-bourne disease on his ranch near Columbus, TX. He was very ill, in ICU several days, long, slow recovery after multiple regimens of antibiotics.

Around southeast Texas, I personally don't encounter near as many ticks as in the past, supposedly because of the abundance nowdays of fire ants. Seems like the ticks that remain are more dangerous than ever though.

In 2006 I contracted tick fever in RSA. My PH in typical fashion said we will make a plan and go to the clinic. The PH said "it is probably tick fever and will give you tetracycline and you will be fine in a day or so". Sure enough that is exactly what happened.
I don't know if the same remedy works with same tick born diseases in the U.S. or not, but am glad in worked in RSA.
I also strongly suggest taking the recommended preventive measures others have mentioned on this thread.