Keeping the ticks away: Experts warn of potential risk as more embrace outdoors

Murphy, a 4-year-old Australian Shepherd, loves exploring the dog run at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown.

The popular site includes a fenced-in wooded area where dogs can roam and enjoy nature with their humans. But hidden in the grass and dense foliage are ticks — tiny creatures that aren’t so furry and friendly, and could pose a threat to dogs and their humans.

Some experts believe the tick population — which can carry Lyme disease and other illnesses — has increased in recent years, so pandemic-weary Long Islanders are being urged to take special care this summer and avoid these minuscule critters, some as small as a poppy seed.

"I do check him [for ticks] when I get home," said David Best, of Commack, as he watched Murphy happily sniff his way around the dog park last week. "I don’t check myself … maybe I should."

Dr. Luis Marcos, associate professor of medicine at Stony Brook Medicine and an infectious disease specialist, believes the COVID-19 pandemic allowed ticks to flourish. The bloodsucking bugs are carried on deer, squirrels, mice and other animals.

"People were locked down at home, so animals were walking more freely in the environment and therefore the tick population has increased," Marcos said, adding that anecdotally he has seen a rise in tick-borne diseases this year.

Marcos said the warm recent winters also could be a cause, noting he is seeing more cases in February, March and April.

"Usually we see them in May," he said. "That’s something unusual the last few years."

Tick activity varies from year to year and location to location, depending on a variety of factors, including the environment, ecological factors and available hosts, said Scott Campbell, an entomologist and chief of Suffolk County’s Arthropod-borne Disease Lab in Yaphank.

"Also, over the season, tick activity is a bell-shaped curve, so activity and tick numbers will rise and then fall," he said.

The number of reported cases of tick-borne diseases in the United States has increased over the years, from just over 22,000 in 2004 to more than 50,000 in 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There also was a noticeable spike in diseases from ticks in 2017.

In 2019, there were 2,847 confirmed cases in New York State, second only to Pennsylvania’s 6,763, the CDC said.

Not all ticks carry disease, but those that do, such as the black-legged or deer tick, can spread Lyme, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and Powassan virus.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease on Long Island, with about 700 to 800 cases a year, Marcos said. If it is not treated, Lyme disease can cause swollen and painful joints, temporary facial paralysis and heart problems.

However, some health care clinicians don’t immediately think of Lyme disease when a patient walks in with unexplained symptoms of fever, headache and fatigue.

That’s what happened to Olivia Marie, of Oakdale, who in 2016 wound up contracting meningitis, sepsis and Bell’s palsy before doctors realized she had Lyme disease.

"I had very acute symptoms: pain, loss of appetite and I couldn’t sleep," Marie said.

Several trips to the doctor and emergency room yielded little relief and resulted in a lengthy hospital stay. Finally, a spinal tap confirmed the diagnosis and she went to Stony Brook University Hospital.

"The doctors here examined me, started a course of treatment and pain management that helped me to recover more quickly," she said. "I was bit again in 2018 and 2019, but I came right here and went on medication and I was cured."

Suffolk County’s Department of Health Services conducts tick surveillance with the state Health’s Department at one site in each of the 10 towns — providing a glimpse into the diseases they can carry. Nassau County does not conduct tick surveillance.

For example, 72% of adult black-legged ticks collected at one site in Huntington tested positive for the pathogen that causes Lyme disease, compared with 33% of black-legged ticks collected at one site in Babylon. In East Hampton and Smithtown, ticks that were tested carried pathogens for Lyme, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and Powassan virus.

Officials stress the results represent each collection site and not the towns.

Experts say the best way to battle ticks is to avoid them and learn to identify them.

Samantha Woerner, of Holtsville, said she definitely feels the need to learn more about ticks and the diseases they spread.

"When I’m done with my daily walk, I’ll come home and check to make sure there are no dark spots or anything," she said during a recent visit to Blydenburgh Park. "It would be great to know more about the dangers and the common areas that you would find them."

Stony Brook officials said its health line was busier than ever in 2020, when more than 650 people called to get information about ticks. Many people had relocated to Long Island during the pandemic and didn’t know about the dangers of ticks, they said.

Marcos and his colleagues at Stony Brook’s Division of Infectious Diseases are doing research studies to help figure out the long-term symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

"That's something that nobody knows exactly what's going on," Marcos said. "Most doctors treat symptoms, but we are trying to figure out the cause of those symptoms, so we can approach with better treatments to patients."

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.