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Tick-Borne Illnesses
Ticks are small, bloodsucking mites that can transmit diseases to humans and animals. Most tick-borne — or rickettsial — diseases are viruses that can cause flu-like symptoms in people and can be treated with antibiotics if caught early. Untreated, they may cause serious health problems, including death in rare cases. Several illnesses transmitted by ticks are found in North Carolina:
Most rickettsial illnesses are characterized by a rash, fever and flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache muscle aches and joint pain. Prompt medical treatment, often with antibiotics, helps alleviate symptoms and prevent the development of more serious illness and long-term aftereffects.
Other tick-borne diseases of note include anaplasmosis and babesiosis. Anaplosmosis is a tick-borne bacterial disease that is found mostly in New England and in the upper Midwest and causes similar flu-like symptoms. Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. Also transmitted by ticks, babesiosis is found primarily in the Northeast and Midwestern U.S. and requires a different type of treatment.
Ticks are common in North Carolina and people who live or visit here are at risk of exposure to ticks and the diseases they carry, particularly if they live or work in residential areas surrounded by tick-infested woods or overgrown brush. However, people who work or play in their yard, participate in recreational activities such as hiking, camping, fishing and hunting, or engage in outdoor occupations such as landscaping, brush clearing and forestry. Wildlife and parks management may also be at risk of tick exposure and disease acquisition.
To reduce your chances of being bitten by a tick or acquiring a tick-borne illness, read CDC's advice about ticks 
.
It is unlikely that a person will contract disease from a tick within the first few hours after it bites, so if ticks are found and removed quickly, the danger is reduced. The proper method for removing a tick is to grasp it with tweezers or close to the skin and pull straight out slowly and firmly until the tick lets go. Nail polish, petroleum jelly or hot matches will not make a tick let go. If the tick's mouth parts stay embedded in the skin, remove them with a sterile needle. Wash your hands and the bite area with soap and water, and then clean the bite with disinfectant. Save the tick in a jar or plastic bag or tape it to a card using clear tape and make a note of the day you removed it. If you develop any flu-like symptoms over the next several weeks, see your doctor and let him know you were bitten.
