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A Closer Look at Ticks in Colorado · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

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  Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
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  public health podcast, where we come together
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  for healthier lives, connected communities, and
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  real conversations. From your local public health
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  team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. As
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  the weather warms, many of us will be spending
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  more time outdoors. Whether you're hiking, biking,
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  fishing, or just hanging out in your backyard,
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  it's important to be aware of ticks and the diseases
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  they carry. This week, we're talking with Dr.
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  Chris Roundy, medical entomologist at the Colorado
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  Department of Public Health and Environment,
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  about tick -borne illnesses in Colorado, how
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  to prevent tick bites, and the state's new active
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  tick surveillance program. Chris, thank you so
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  much for joining us. Happy to be here. Thank
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  you for the invite. To start, can you tell us
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  a bit about yourself and the work that you do?
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  Yeah, so I'm the state public health entomologist
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  with the Colorado Department of Public Health
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  and Environment. So in short, that means I support
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  the surveillance and control efforts around the
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  state for mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. This
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  often involves training on surveillance strategies,
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  mosquito and tick identification, and coordinating
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  vector testing in Colorado. When I'm not hunting
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  mosquitoes and ticks, I enjoy snowboarding, camping,
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  gardening, playing soccer. I'm really excited
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  for the World Cup and playing Dungeons and Dragons.
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  So CDPHE has operated a passive tick surveillance
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  program for a while where Colorado residents
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  can send ticks in when they find them. Can you
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  tell us a little bit more about that passive
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  program? This tick surveillance program is really
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  a community science program where anyone who
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  finds a tick on themselves or their dogs or in
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  the environment can send it in to us for identification.
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  This helps us identify hot spots around the states,
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  trends from year to year, as well as watching
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  for invasive species. We have really depended
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  on Coloradans for this information. We receive
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  hundreds of ticks every year. These come straight
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  to my desk in envelopes. And to make myself feel
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  better about receiving ticks in the mail, I call
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  it my fan mail. But if anyone has a tick, they
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  can check out our website for submission instructions.
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  And there's a brief survey that they fill out
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  on where they found the tick and some other information.
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  Do you have any funny or interesting tick -related
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  stories? So sometimes with those community science
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  submissions, I get little notes that honestly
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  make my day. There are notes from a couple of
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  kids talking about finding this tick after camping
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  or pulling it off of their dad. One individual
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  did send in a haiku about ticks being Rocky Mountain's
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  secrets and hiding in the environment. as well
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  as just little notes appreciating what we do.
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  I've got one that always sticks with me. It says
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  entomologists are awesome, ticks not so much.
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  And yeah, that one in particular really just
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  made my day as I opened up an envelope. Sometimes
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  I get things that aren't ticks. And that's fine.
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  Tick ID can be tough. I'll get things like spiders,
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  other small bugs. But my favorite submission
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  to this day came in the mail. There was a note
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  card with the tick submission that had a detailed
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  list of all of the hikes that this individual
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  had been on with their dog in the last couple
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  of weeks. I was like, oh, this is great. I never
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  get this much data with a tick submission. I
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  took a look at the tick, and it was actually
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  just a very small rock. This had just become
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  embedded in their dog's hair on a hike. They
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  pulled it out, you know, hard to see, feels like
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  something small, and they'd sent it in thinking
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  that it was a tick, which is all right. I would
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  rather receive something that's not a tick than
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  people, you know, dispose of it. Yeah, hard to
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  do a pathogen analysis, I imagine, on a rock.
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  Yeah, hopefully he's not carrying anything. Have
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  you received ticks from every part of Colorado
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  through that program? We have received ticks
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  from nearly every county in Colorado. So we've
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  hit the major portions of Colorado. Some of our
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  smaller counties haven't sent many in, but we
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  receive 200 to 300 ticks every year. So this
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  season, CDPHE introduced a new active tick surveillance
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  program, working in partnership with local public
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  health agencies throughout the state. What does
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  that effort look like? So this effort really
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  builds on that passive surveillance system. Data
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  that we got from people sending in ticks allowed
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  us to justify going out into the environment
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  and more actively looking for ticks around Colorado.
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  Tick collection? is often called tick dragging.
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  And really all we do is drag a white cloth through
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  tick habitats. Those ticks think that they've
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  found a nice host. So they grab onto that cloth
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  and then the light color allows us to spot them
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  easily, pull them off. We then identify them
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  and we'll also be testing them for pathogens.
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  We are just getting started with this program,
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  but we have been so... pleasantly surprised with
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  the support we have received from local public
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  health agencies. We already have about 20 counties
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  participating, which is About as much as we could
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  handle this year. Myself and another medical
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  entomologist at CDPHE, Cassie Durden, had been
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  very busy the last few months going around the
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  state, working with LPHAs and training them on
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  how to collect ticks. So then you started to
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  talk about this a little bit, but once you've
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  collected the ticks, what are the next steps?
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  What are you looking for? The way this program
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  works is we want collection really to be led
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  at the local level, local public health groups,
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  as well as people who work in. Open Space, Parks
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  and Wildlife, academic partners, they're the
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  ones out there doing the work to collect these
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  ticks. They then send them in to us at CDPHE,
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  where I will be identifying them. Once we have
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  them identified, we'll send them off to CDC for
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  testing. CDC will be testing for Colorado tick
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  fever virus, as well as bacterial pathogens like
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  Rocky Mountain spotted fever. So I am curious,
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  Chris, what kind of ticks do you guys actually
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  find out in the field? Well, two most common
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  ticks here in Colorado are both Dermacenter species.
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  We have Dermacenter variabilis, which is known
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  as the American dog tick. This is primarily going
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  to be along the front range and to our east.
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  We also have Dermacentor andersoni, known as
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  the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick. This tick prefers
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  elevation, so somewhere in the mountains we see
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  a shift to this species, and then it's found
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  west of there as well. What kind of diseases
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  do those two ticks actually carry? So those two
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  are our vectors of Colorado tick fever virus
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  as well as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Do we
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  see any kind of invasive species here in Colorado
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  for ticks? We occasionally do get invasive species
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  showing up. It's important to note that these
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  invasive species have not established themselves
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  here in Colorado. But ticks are really good hitchhikers.
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  So when someone travels outside the state, whether
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  they're going somewhere east or south of Colorado,
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  those are where those invasive species are more
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  common. And sometimes they accidentally bring
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  them back with them and find them on themselves.
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  animals, their clothing after the fact. We get
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  those sent in to our surveillance program. And
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  as part of the questionnaire, we ask if someone
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  has traveled recently so that we know if this
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  was found locally or if they accidentally brought
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  it back with them. These invasive species that
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  we're watching closely for are Exodius scapularis,
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  also known as the black -legged tick or the deer
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  tick, as well as Amblyomma americanum, the lone
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  star tick. The deer tick can transmit Lyme disease,
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  which is the most common vector -borne disease
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  in the U .S. And the lone star tick is responsible
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  for causing alpha -gal syndrome, which has been
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  unfortunately becoming more common and has been
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  receiving a lot of attention lately. Where exactly
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  are you guys finding these ticks? What environment
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  are they most common in? Places in Colorado with
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  medium to tall grass are primarily going to be
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  the areas where we find these ticks. This can
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  be in open pastures. along the Front Range, as
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  well as in more wooded areas along the mountains.
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  Unfortunately, this is where a lot of us like
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  to go out and spend our time hiking on these
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  trails, spending time in our beautiful open spaces
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  in Colorado. But that's where the ticks enjoy
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  hanging out as well. So how exactly do these
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  ticks spread then? Yeah, as I mentioned, these
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  ticks are really good hitchhikers. Ticks themselves
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  don't move very far in their lifetime. We're
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  talking a handful of meters of them crawling
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  around. But when they grab onto us or our dogs
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  or on wildlife as well, that's what takes them
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  from place to place. So when we talk about invasive
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  species spreading throughout the U .S., it's
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  really them hitching a ride on wildlife. and
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  ending up in a new place that's suitable for
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  them. So what kind of wildlife do they hitch
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  a ride on? Deer are a really common one in our
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  neck of the woods for ticks to be moved into
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  new places. But they also might hitch a ride
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  on elk, moose, or much smaller animals like rabbits
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  and other rodents. So wherever those animals
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  are found, you're probably going to find ticks.
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  Absolutely. Yeah. That's actually one of the
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  things we look for when we're trying to find
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  a good site to collect ticks is wildlife activity.
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  So when are those ticks most prevalent throughout
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  the year? Is there a certain time where you're
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  going to find more of them? Tick season typically
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  starts as soon as our weather starts to warm
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  up in the spring. So we start getting ticks,
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  you know, in March or so. And then that high
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  activity will continue through June. As soon
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  as our summers start to... really heat up, tick
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  activity drops off quickly. Then a few months
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  later we see another small bump of activity in
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  the fall once those temperatures start to cool
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  back down. This year was a little bit different.
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  We had a very mild winter and a warm start to
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  spring so we saw tick activity earlier than usual
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  this year. What steps can people take to protect
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  themselves from tick -borne diseases? Thankfully,
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  we can take easy steps to avoid ticks. One of
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  the ways to do that is just to avoid their habitats.
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  Trying to stay on the trail and out of tall brush
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  or grass is a great thing to do. We also want
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  to limit their access to us. Wearing long pants
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  and if you want to be really fashionable, tucking
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  those into tall socks works really well. And
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  we can also wear insect repellent. A lot of the
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  same repellents that work well for mosquitoes
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  also work for ticks. This includes DEET, permethrin.
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  Personally, I like to treat my clothing with
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  permethrin. There's a formulation that you can
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  use to treat clothing and gear that lasts through
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  several washes so you don't have to think about
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  it every time you go outside. And then what about
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  pets? What steps can people take to protect their
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  pets when they're outside? Similarly, we can
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  try to keep our pets out of those tick habitats.
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  That's not always possible, especially with dogs
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  that like to roam around the trail. So on our
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  pets as well as on us, we want to make sure that
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  we're doing a good tick check after we've been
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  in these habitats. And both us and our pets,
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  the ticks like to hang out. In our crevices is
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  a great way to put it. Our armpits, the groin
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  area, back of the knee, up in your hair as well.
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  With dogs that are covered in hair, it can be
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  hard to spot these small ticks. We want to be
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  making sure that we check those dogs' armpits,
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  their ears, their groin area as well. Sometimes
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  if you are brushing a dog or just running your
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  hands along them, you can feel the tick easier
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  than you can see it. What should you do if you
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  do find a tick on you or someone else? So if
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  you find a tick, you want to remove it right
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  away. The longer that tick is attached, the more
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  likely they are to transmit a pathogen if they're
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  infected. And to do that, you'll want to grab
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  a pair of tweezers and grab those ticks mouth
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  parts as close to the skin as you can. You want
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  to pull out straight and steady. Don't twist
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  or yank. That's a good way to accidentally leave
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  the mouth parts embedded in your skin. That doesn't
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  put you at any greater risk for disease, but
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  is irritating, and then it's harder to get out.
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  After you've removed the tick... please send
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  it to me. I really do enjoy getting these ticks
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  in the mail and it's an important source of data
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  for us. And then I have to ask for everyone who,
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  like me, at some point has been told that you
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  can use a flame to remove a tick. Is that a recommended
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  or effective method of removing a tick? We do
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  not recommend using a lighted match or anything
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  else to kind of burn the tick's bum to get them
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  to detach. While that will get them to panic
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  and detach, in that pan - Sometimes they regurgitate
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  into the bite wound as they're leaving, which
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  actually can increase your risk of getting exposed
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  to something. Another one that we don't recommend
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  is using Vaseline. People will cover the back
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  of the tick with Vaseline or sometimes even something
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  like duct tape. The way that ticks breathe is
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  through an organ towards the end of their body.
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  So by covering that. You cause them to suffocate.
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  Eventually, that will cause them to pull out.
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  But the same thing with a lighted match to their
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  bum. They'll panic in the meantime, and that
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  increases the possible risk of disease. If you
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  are bitten by a tick, are there common symptoms
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  that people should look out for? Both of our
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  common tick -borne diseases here in Colorado,
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  Colorado tick fever virus and Rocky Mountain
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  spotted fever, start with flu -like symptoms.
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  You're going to feel really tired, have a headache,
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  a fever. And there, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,
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  as the name might suggest, can result in a rash.
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  So if you experience these symptoms following
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  a tick bite or just following being in a tick
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  habitat, you'll want to seek out your primary
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  care physician and follow up with them to get
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  testing and treatment. But for Rocky Mountain
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  Spotted Fever, once diagnosed, that is very treatable.
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  For Colorado Tick Fever Virus, unfortunately,
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  there is no treatment. That is just supportive
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  care, keeping the fever. down staying hydrated
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  and resting. How long after getting bitten by
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  a tick do those symptoms usually show up? Following
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  a tick bite, those symptoms show up typically
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  within a week, maybe two. So that's the time
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  frame in which people want to watch for those
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  symptoms. So you mentioned that you like to receive
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  these ticks via mail. More power to you. How
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  can somebody get you a tick via mail if they
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  were to pull one off of themselves or their dog?
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  So on our website, if you search CDPHE ticks,
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  it takes you to our tick -borne diseases page.
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  And from there, there's a link for submit a tick.
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  It'll ask people to fill in. a lot of brief survey
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  on where they found the tick, if it was attached,
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  if they have traveled recently. And then the
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  mailing instructions are simple. Just double
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  bag it in Ziploc bags, toss it in an envelope
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  and get it in the mail to me. So you mentioned
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  that there is data that you collect about these
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  ticks and some of the pathogens that they might
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  carry. Is this... Data available to the public?
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  That is something that we are working on, especially
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  with our new active surveillance program. We're
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  about to have a lot more tick data around Colorado
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  than we have in the past. And I'm working on
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  making that into a interactive dashboard for
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  our website that people can go and see which
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  types of ticks are being found in which counties
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  and environments around the state. That should
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  go live later this year. A great source to learn
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  more about ticks in Colorado is our CDPHE website
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  on tick -borne diseases. That'll cover the types
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  of ticks we have here in Colorado, the types
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  of pathogens that they carry, and where to seek
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  additional information if you're curious. Well,
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  thank you so much, Chris, for taking the time
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  to meet with us. We really do appreciate it.
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  Of course, this is great. This has been really
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  fun. Yeah, we don't get to talk about haikus
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  and public health very often. You can find links
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  to learn more about the topics we discussed today
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  in the show notes. If you have a question about
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  public health in Larimer County or a topic you'd
• 15:51
  like us to discuss, let us know. Email us at
• 15:53
  HealthierTogether at Larimer .org. Thanks for
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  listening, Larimer County. Until next week, stay
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  well, stay connected, and remember, we really
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  are healthier together.