Nearly 10% of Ticks Tested Positive For Lyme Disease During MTU’s Continued Disease Surveillance

It is well-known that ticks can carry diseases, and Michigan Tech’s Genomic sequencing lab has been crowd-sourcing ticks for disease surveillance.

400 ticks have been collected and submitted to the lab, including 39 Lyme-positive ticks and 23 Anaplasma-positive ticks. Anaplasmosis is a bacterial infection that can cause flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle pains, a general feeling of discomfort or being ill, and gastrointestinal issues.

Lyme-positive ticks: Chassell (11), Maasto Hiihto Trails (7), Victoria (6), Pilgrim River Trails (5), Liminga (3), L’Anse – Haataja Road (2), Bear Lake Road (1), Dollar Bay (1), Houghton (1), Tech Trails (1).

Anaplasma-positive ticks: Maasto Hiihto Trails (9), Stanton Township – Liminga Road (7), Bear Lake Road (1), L’Anse – Haataja Road (1), Pontiac Road (1), Toivola (1).

You can bring preserved ticks to collection boxes on Michigan Tech’s campus, available at the main entrance of the Forestry building, or in the building lobby of the Great Lakes Research Center. The collection will continue until Sept. 30.

Michigan Tech asks the public to follow the steps below to remove and preserve ticks. (As posted on the Michigan Tech website)

1. Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause its mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:
   1. Placing it in a sealed plastic storage bag. Multiple ticks from the same location can be placed in the same bag.
   2. Once the tick is sealed inside the plastic storage bag, bring it to a drop-off point within eight hours or place the bag with the tick in a freezer until dropping it off at Michigan Tech.
5. Follow the directions at the drop-off site to ensure the tick is properly preserved.