Tazewell County gives tick tips for Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Posted on May 13, 2024

*^{Anyone who develops a fever, rash, body aches, chills or headaches after a tick bite are encouraged to see a doctor. (Photo Courtesy of WMBD-TV)}*

By WMBD-TV

PEKIN – Tazewell County is reminding the public to keep an eye out for ticks for May, or Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

According to their website, ticks can spread Lyme Disease and like to hide everywhere on your body. This includes ears, hair, arm pits, waist, legs and knees.

It’s always important to check for ticks regularly, but imperative when being outdoors. Wearing protective clothing, using tick repellent and avoiding wooded areas can help for avoiding tick bites.

Of the four tick species native to Tazewell County, only one, the Brown Dog Tick, isn’t known to be an important carrier of human diseases.

The other three can. The Blacklegged Tick, the Lone Star Tick and the American Dog Tick can spread Tularemia and Ehrlichiosis to humans. While the Blacklegged Tick is the only one known to spread Lyme Disease, the Lone Star Tick and American Dog Tick can spread Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

Anyone who develops a fever, rash, body aches, chills or headaches after a tick bite are encouraged to see a doctor.

People who have questions or need tick identification should call Environmental Health at (309) 929-0272.

WMBD-TV can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…