Tick-borne Diseases & the Workplace: How to Decrease Your Exposure
By Illinois Lyme Association
Ticks are a growing health threat throughout Illinois. Although you may be most familiar with the blacklegged deer tick that can transmit Lyme disease, others, such as the Lone Star tick, American dog tick, and Gulf Coast tick, are on the rise and may carry disease-causing pathogens that also impact public health.
Each year, approximately 476,000 people contract Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those who work outdoors, including railroad and forestry workers, park rangers, conservation police, landscapers, utility and construction workers, and farmers, are more likely to encounter infected ticks. Preventing exposure to ticks and recognizing the signs and symptoms of tick-borne diseases can go a long way in keeping outdoor workers safe.
Tick Attachment Times
Throughout a tick’s two- to three-year lifecycle, it’ll feed on multiple warm-blooded hosts as its food source. The longer a tick is attached to its host, the greater the risk it transmits an infection. However, the attachment times for tick-borne diseases vary, and some diseases can be transmitted in a matter of minutes. Therefore, even if a tick is attached for a short time, it’s still possible to become infected by a tick-borne disease. Learning to identify ticks and the pathogens they may carry can help workers seek appropriate medical intervention.
Identification chart of the types of ticks most likely to be found in Illinois.
Places to Find Ticks
Ticks have been found throughout Illinois and may reside in outdoor and residential worksites in rural, suburban, and urban areas. Workers at risk for contracting tick-borne disease may encounter ticks in a variety of outdoor habits. Hospital tick environments include:
Wooded areas
Piles of leaf litter
Unkempt grass
Brushy areas
Habits with deer, raccoons, rodents, and other animals
Ticks are most active in the spring and summer but can be active any time of year, particularly when temperatures remain above freezing.
Protect Yourself
To help protect yourself from tick bites and tick-borne disease when working outdoors. Consider implementing the following tick prevention strategies.
Wear light-colored clothing.
Treat clothes and gear (when appropriate) with permethrin.
Tuck pants into socks.
Wear tall boots treated with permethrin.
Wear a hat or hooded sweatshirt.
Use repellent spray — picaridin or 40% DEET or higher.
Check clothing and gear and use a lint roller.
Throw clothing in the dryer on high heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
Take a shower.
Perform a head-to-toe tick check.
How to Remove a Tick
Don’t squeeze or twist the tick. Don’t cover the tick with any substance, including essential oils, soap, or oils. Don’t burn the tick with a match. Attempts to burn or smother a tick may cause it to regurgitate its contents, increasing the chances of infection. Instead, do the following:
With fine-pointed tweezers, grasp the tick as close the skin as possible.
Pull upward with firm, even pressure.
If the head remains in the skin, see if you can pull it out. But don’t dig and rip the skin.
Clean the bite area with soap and water or alcohol.
Keep the tick! It can be tested. Place the tick in a sealable bag and send it to a tick testing site, such as TickReport or Ticknology. Note: There is a fee for tick testing. Follow company directions for mailing. Tick testing is not to be used as diagnostic, however, it is a helpful tool.
You can also get free tick identification through the INHS Medical Entomology Lab at the University of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
The initial symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases may be general and flu-like in nature. If you’ve been bitten by a tick or been in a hospitable tick environment or near tick-carrying animals, remain vigilant for the following symptoms:
Rashes — when present, a bullseye rash (erythema migrans or EM rash) is a telltale symptom of a Lyme disease infection. Not everyone gets a rash. Estimates range from 30% to 80% of those infected.
Fatigue
Fever or chills
Headaches
Muscle and joint pain
Overall unwell feeling
Contact your health care provider if you develop these symptoms after a tick bite or after being in a hospitable tick environment.
Workers’ Rights by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Workers have the right to:
Working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm.
Receive information and training (in a language and vocabulary the worker understands) about workplace hazards, methods to prevent them, and the OSHA standards that apply to their workplace.
Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses.
File a complaint asking OSHA to inspect their workplace if they believe there is a serious hazard or that their employer is not following OSHA’s rules. OSHA will keep all identities confidential.
Exercise their rights under the law without retaliation, including reporting an injury or raising health and safety concerns with their employer or OSHA. If a worker has been retaliated against for using their rights, they must file a complaint with OSHA as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days. For more information, visit www.osha.gov or call OSHA at 1-800-321- OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.
If you would like a printable version of this information, download our Workplace Safety here.
