Tiny deer ticks go through three stages: larva, nymph, and adult. Nymphs cause most human infections because they are very small and hard to see; adult ticks can also transmit Lyme disease into the fall.
Lyme disease affects 475,000 people in the United States each year. Most cases respond to antibiotics, but about 10 to 20% of infected people have ongoing symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and joint or muscle pain that can last months or years. A vaccine from Pfizer is in the final development stages and would require three to four doses if approved, Linden Hu of Tufts University School of Medicine notes.
Prevention includes showering after outdoor activities, nightly tick checks of behind the ears, under the arms, around the waistband, behind the knees and along the scalp, and removing ticks with fine tweezers close to the skin. Use DEET repellent and permethrin-treated clothing; commercial treatment often lasts about 70 washes, while home spraying lasts three to five washes. If a tick is engorged and fed for more than 48 hours, a single dose of doxycycline can be used as post-exposure prevention. Early oral antibiotics such as doxycycline or amoxicillin in children can prevent complications.
Difficult words
- nymph — young tick stage, very small and hard to seenymphs
- larva — first development stage after the egg
- engorged — swollen after feeding on blood
- doxycycline — an antibiotic medicine used for some infections
- vaccine — a medicine that helps prevent an infection
- antibiotic — drug that kills or stops bacterial infectionantibiotics
- permethrin-treated clothing — clothes treated with chemical to repel ticks
- ongoing — continuing for a long time, not finished
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Which prevention steps from the article would you do after a walk in the woods, and why?
- How would you check a child for ticks before bed? Describe the places to look.
- If a vaccine requiring three to four doses becomes available, would you get it? Why or why not?
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