The black-legged deer ticks that spread Lyme disease are flourishing in New Jersey, as are other ticks, too.
Such is the word from entomologists like Rutgers University’s Dina Fonseca, who says climate change is creating a comfy landing spot for ticks in New Jersey. Fonseca keeps track through with “Ticks for Science,” a citizen lab project that collects and tests dead ticks mailed in by their victims: the New Jersey residents they’ve bitten.
“We’re seeing about 25% of the nymphs are infected with Lyme bacteria, 50% of the adults are infected with Lyme bacteria,” Fonseca told NJ Spotlight News. “We are very aware of the presence of ticks and how likely it is that you can get Lyme disease by a tiny little bite.”
Out in the field, entomologists contend they can simply sweep a white baby blanket over bushes in Bergen County and find black-legged ticks. “Tick season is every season, so it never ends,” Fonseca said.
So far this year, the state Department of Health has reported 3,842 positive Lyme cases across New Jersey’s 21 counties. Hunterdon County currently tops New Jersey’s Lyme hot spots, followed by Morris, Sussex, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
In mid-September, the newly-adult black-legged deer ticks carrying Lyme will start biting, entomologists say, and with a warming climate, they can bite for months.
“Deer ticks, so long as the temperature’s like in the upper 40s or 50s, they’ll come out,” said Bergen County Entomologist Matt Bickerton. “So they’ll actually come out in the winter time. If you have a warm week in February, it happens.”
With the prevalent numbers, experts said they are recalibrating their tick averages.
“You have to establish a new baseline,” said Dr. Richard Porwancher, a Princeton Lyme disease specialist. “I would say the new baseline for New Jersey is probably in the range of 5,000 to 6,000 cases.”
Porwancher stressed that people bitten by infected deer ticks can get treated with a common antibiotic within 72 hours of removing the tick. He said he’s also been working with Pfizer to develop a vaccine that is currently in trials.
“Some preliminary studies that have been released show that it produces a good antibody response, and that it appears to be safe,” he said. “However, we don’t know how effective it is.”
The study won’t be completed for another year, Porwancher said, when results will be “un-blinded” to separate participants who got placebos from those who received the real vaccine.
Only transmitted by deer ticks, Lyme bacteria can attack the brain, nervous system and heart with devastating results.
Studies show different disease-carrying tick species are also moving into New Jersey, including the aggressive Gulf Coast tick that is usually found in southern states. Up to 40% of Gulf Coast ticks — or more — can be infected, Fonseca said.
“We are especially concerned about … the Gulf Coast tick,” she said. “An infected female passes on the bacteria to the eggs, and then the larvae hatch already is infected.”
Experts advise people out walking in the woods to take precautions: wear long pants and long sleeved shirts sprayed with tick repellent, and check for ticks when they get home. Gulf Coast ticks can transmit disease in less than an hour. The black-legged deer ticks take longer, more than a full day.
