Taking On Ticks—

Information Forum On Lyme Disease Set For May 2

By John Voket

Donna Culbert, director of health for the Newtown Health District (serving Newtown, Bridgewater and Roxbury) is seriously concerned. Some would even say she’s “ticked off!” Ms Culbert is becoming more worried as the warmer weather draws near, people will be spending more time outdoors — that’s where the ticks are.

“Of course, nearly everyone welcomes warmer weather and longer days with open arms and short sleeves [and shorts),” she said. “However, it essential that everyone be conscious of their possible risk to tick bites.”

To help keep local residents up to speed on the issues of tick-borne disease, Ms Culbert is collaborating with the local school district, Kevin’s Community Center, and the Newtown VNA to host an informational forum entitled: “Know Your Risk — Don’t Get Bit!”

The forum will educate local residents on subjects ranging from ticks, their habits and habitat, to how the deer fit into the tick life cycle and, most importantly, how to protect yourself and your family and prevent tick-borne disease. The forum will be held at the Reed Intermediate School, Trades Lane, May 2, from 7 to 9 pm.

This program is part of Kevin’s Community Center’s Community Wellness Series. Speakers will include Dr Kirby Stafford, vice director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Dr Stafford is a medical-veterinary entomologist whose research focuses on the ecology and control of the black-legged tick, Ixodes Scapularis, that transmits the agents of Lyme disease, human babesiosis, and human ehrlichiosis.

After working at Penn State on a poultry pest management project, Dr Stafford joined the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 1987. He became the chief scientist in 1997 and the vice director and state entomologist in 2004.

The Ag Station has done extensive research with focus on this tick and Dr Stafford continues to work with local health departments and the Connecticut Department of Public Health on community-based projects for the prevention of Lyme disease.

Dr Georgina Scholl, the Redding representative and research chair of the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance, will also return to speak. Dr Scholl did an informative presentation for the Newtown Rotary Club in 2005, and has provided submissions related to deer management and tick-borne disease to The Newtown Bee, as well as other media.

Dr Scholl’s education includes Honors BSc in physiology from University of London, and graduated from Cambridge University, England, Distinction in Medicine.

Her work covered respiratory medicine, neurology/neurosurgery, and medical and surgical ophthalmology at several hospitals in London. She also had extensive training at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr Scholl also studied landscape design at the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, and plant biology at The Chicago Botanic Garden. She is the author of many articles in local papers and letters in The New York Times on deer management and deer tick reduction.

For those already preparing their local landscapes for the season, Ms Culbert urges strongly residents to pay attention to their possible exposure to ticks. Nymphal ticks are very small and are difficult to see with the naked eye.

It is critically important that when you are outdoors that you be careful to:

Avoid tick habitats whenever possible. Ticks like to live in leaf litter and moist and shady areas. It is important to try to alter the landscape to increase sunlight and lower the humidity; this will make for a less desirable habitat for the ticks. Remove leaf litter, clean up stone walls, use wood chip borders along the yard edge and moving play areas and swing sets out of the shade will all help reduce your potential exposure to the ticks.

Use personal protection (protective clothing, long pants and sleeves, pants tucked in, long hair tied back, and use of repellents if desired and used according to the manufacturers directions)

Check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks when you come in from the outdoors,

If you find a tick attached, remove it carefully and properly with thin tipped tweezers just behind the head-the place of attachment and pulling straight out,

Disinfect the area and put the tick in a sealed plastic bag or container,

Bring the tick to the Health District office where it will then be sent out to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, for identification and possible testing for the spirochetes that cause Lyme disease.

There are many things you can do to your outdoor environment to reduce numbers of ticks and tick exposure — contact the Health District office or stop by for a brochure that provides details.

Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses can range from disruptive to devastating. Early detection, diagnosis and treatment is of the utmost importance to enable recovery.

For additional information, contact the Health District office at 270-4291 or newtownhd@earthlink.net

Two good websites to visit on this subject are www.cdc.gov and www.caes.state.ct.us