OCONTO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Tickborne illnesses are on the rise in Oconto County.
The county’s public health department reports 10 cases of Anaplasmosis among residents as of Thursday. That number compares to just nine in 2020.
Symptoms of Anaplasmosis include fever, chills, severe headache, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting. Like other tick-related illnesses, the disease can be treated with antibiotic. However, it can cause respiratory failure, bleeding problems, organ failure or death if not treated, health officials say.
To prevent tick bites and all tick-related illnesses, the following is recommended:
- Use repellent on skin and clothing: Use insect repellant with that contains one of the following: at least 20%-30% DEET, 10%-20% Picaridin, 15%-20% IR3535, or 30%-40% oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin and clothes to prevent tick bites. Apply permethrin to clothes, shoes and gear. Do not apply directly on skin.
- Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: Wear long sleeves, long pants and long socks to keep ticks on the outside of clothing. Tuck shirts into pants, and pants into your shoes or socks to keep the ticks on the outside of clothing. Wear light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot.
- Avoid direct contact with ticks: Walk in the center of trails and do not brush up against plants on the edge of trails. Avoid wooded and brushy areas with tall grass and leaf litter.
- Check for ticks after being outside: Check your full body carefully after being outside, even in your own yard. Pay special attention to your armpits, behind the knees, scalp, in and around ears, inside the belly button and groin. Before going inside, make sure your clothing, gear and pets don’t have ticks. Take a bath or shower as soon as possible after coming inside to find and wash ticks off of your body. Place clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that may be on clothing.
- Quickly remove any ticks you find on your body: Grasp the tick with a tweezers as close to the skin as possible. If a tweezers is not available, use your fingers and cover your fingers in Kleenex. Pull upward and out with a firm and steady tension. Get rid of the tick by putting it in alcohol or flushing down the toilet. After removing the tick, clean the bite site with rubbing alcohol and wash your hands. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products. Do not handle the tick with bare hands or squeeze the tick.
If a rash, fever, headache, muscle pain, chills, fatigue or nausea/abdominal pain are developed, health officials recommend seeing your doctor.
More information on tick-related illnesses can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website.
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