Several ticks collected in routine trapping from Lopez Canyon trail in Sorrento Valley have tested positive for tularemia, a potentially dangerous bacterial disease also known as “rabbit fever.”
Officials from the County’s Vector Control program urged people to protect themselves and their pets from ticks when hiking or walking in grassy, backcountry areas, on trails and in the wild. The best way to start, officials said, is by wearing insect repellent, proper clothing, and to use insect control products that kills fleas and ticks on pets.
Vector Control officials said they have been finding increased numbers of ticks this year around the county, although the ones collected in Sorrento Valley were the only ones that have tested positive for any disease.
The County’s Vector Control Program monitors the population of vectors — animals like ticks, fleas, rodents and mosquitoes — that can transmit diseases to people.
Ticks are tiny, eight-legged parasites related to spiders. They crawl out on leaves and vegetation and extend their hooked front legs to latch onto passing animals and people, then bite and feed on blood. Even though tick diseases are rare in San Diego County, they have also been known to carry other diseases including Lyme disease and spotted fever illnesses. Tularemia can be successfully treated with antibiotics, but can be dangerous and even fatal.
County public health officials said anyone who is bitten by a tick should not panic, but carefully remove it. They said if a person develops a rash or fever within several weeks of being bitten they should see a doctor, tell them about the tick bite, when they were bitten and where they think it happened.
Here are seven easy tips to help you protect yourself, your family and pets from ticks:
Tick tips2 from sdcounty
For more information about ticks go to the County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health’s Tick Web page, and the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Tick Web page. You can also watch this County News Center TV video, “Tick Talk.”
