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In most cases, the infected tick must be attached to a human for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted.Īdult ticks can also transmit Lyme disease bacteria, but they are much larger and people who are bitten are more likely to discover and remove the ticks before they have had time to transmit the bacteria, CDC said. Nymphs are tiny (about the size of a poppy seed) and difficult to see they feed during the spring and summer months. Most humans are infected with Lyme disease when immature ticks, called nymphs, bite them, according to the CDC. Lyme disease is the most common vector-transmitted disease in the United States, along with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Military field exercises and deployments put active duty service members at higher risk for tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and a host of others.īeing outdoors with your family also puts them at risk, too. David Denlinger, a Defense Health Agency entomologist. However, “ticks will situate themselves anywhere on the body,” said U.S. Ticks can attach to any part of the human body but are often found in hard-to-see areas such as the groin, armpits, and scalp. David Sanders, an entomologist and chief of the research division at the Armed Forces Pest Management Board. “There is not truly a season when ticks are completely inactive for most of the world,” said U.S. Tick-Borne Illnesses | Vector-Borne Illnesses | Bug WeekĪs we change seasons, ticks are out there waiting to feed on you, bug experts say.
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