Beyond Lyme

By Christine Gorman

There's something about ticks that drives even the most well-balanced among us a bit nutty. They're too small to feel when they're crawling on your skin. They pack their own anesthetic, so you don't realize they're burying their heads in your body. And they suck your blood for hours at a stretch. Besides grossing you out, ticks may carry certain bacteria that can make you very, very sick, as thousands of folks in the Northeast and Midwest who have developed Lyme disease can tell you.

But Lyme disease isn't the only or even the deadliest tick-borne infection. Ever since 1986, when the first cases cropped up in the U.S., researchers have been keeping a watchful eye on a debilitating and sometimes fatal flu-like ailment called Ehrlichiosis. The infection is transmitted by the Lone Star tick in the southern half of the U.S. and the ever present deer tick in the north. It was once thought to afflict only dogs and horses, but four strains of bacteria that affect people have been identified in the past decade. Last week came word that a fifth strain, called Ehrlichia ewingii, which is particularly common among dogs in Missouri, can cause illness in their masters as well.

The new bacterium was identified in four patients as well as two of their dogs by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "We don't think the dogs gave the infection to the people directly [through licks or bites]," says Dr. Gregory Storch, an infectious-disease specialist who led the study. "We think both pets and patients were innocent victims."

What's particularly worrisome about Ehrlichiosis is that it's not easy to spot. There's no telltale rash, as occurs in Lyme disease. Nor is there an easy test for it. Doctors must rely on such circumstantial evidence as a low level of white blood cells and abnormal spots on those cells. And an antibiotic commonly prescribed for Lyme disease--amoxicillin--is useless for treating Ehrlichiosis. Fortunately, there's another drug, doxycycline, that does the trick. Left untreated, however, severe cases of the infection can kill in a few days.

Does this mean you should never walk in the woods again? Absolutely not. But a few precautions are in order. Tuck your pants into your socks, spray DEET on your clothes and stay away from the grassy, overgrown areas favored by ticks. Also, be sure to check your body and your kids' bodies at least once a day.

Since it takes as long as 24 hours for bacteria to get from the tick into your bloodstream, it pays to remove ticks as soon as you can. Don't try holding a burnt match to the tick to make it back out. Apart from scorching yourself, you'll just provoke it into regurgitating its potentially toxic baggage into your body. Instead, take a pair of tweezers, line them up alongside the tick's body and as close to your skin as you can and gently pull out the tick. Be sure not to squeeze or crush the tick, as that can force its insides into your body as well. After the tick is out, wash the area of the bite with antiseptic, and place the tick in a plastic container marked with the date in case your doctor needs to test it later to confirm a diagnosis. Most important, don't delay getting medical help if you develop a fever or rash. Both Ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease are easily cured if caught right away.

To learn more about ticks and Ehrlichiosis, visit time.com/personal You can send e-mail to Christine at gorman@time.com