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Comment by oblib | Hacker News Reader

This has no bearing on the tests of this new drug, but it's worth noting that the best prevention is getting ticks off of you quickly.

I know this because I live in a very tick infested area (Ozark Mountains) and very few people who've grown up here in families that have lived here for generations get lyme disease. I don't personally know anyone who has.

Since I was kid in the `60s, and long before that, parents here did "tick checks" every evening. After calling us in mom's would strips us little kids down naked and pick any off they found and demand the older kids do it themselves and it becomes a habit. So does being aware. I mean, I don't ignore it when I think I feel one on me and I'm always aware there might be.

I'm 61 now and I've been bit more times than I can count, but I still make a point to do a tick check every evening.

Check out this video I made a couple years ago. They can get thick here...

https://youtu.be/TFVDv8swzxQ

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As others have noted, there's little to no Lyme disease in the Ozarks currently (https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/maps.html). The other thing is removing the ticks daily; ticks need to be attached for usually around 36 hours before the Lyme bacteria move from the hindgut to the mouth, so if you're doing a daily tick check then you're good (from a Lyme disease perspective).

I also live in the Ozarks. Pretty sure that the ticks that bear Lyme disease bacteria are practically non-existent in the Ozarks. They're more relegated to the North East.

Not to downplay the importance of tick checks and other prevention techniques.

The midwest is pretty infested too. Especially parts of WI and MN

As a FYI, Slovenia is also a lyme disease hotspot. Do tick checks, wear long sleeve shirts and tuck trousers into your boots and your shirt into your trousers. Don't give the ticks any opportunity to crawl onto your skin.

This is correct - you can confirm from the CDC charts here: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/maps-recent.html

Note that cases are reported by state of residence, so even the handful of cases in Arkansas and Missouri are probably attributable to travel to the upper Midwest or Northeast.

However, the Ozarks do have a high incidence of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, so you should still be careful about preventing tick bites and removing them ASAP: https://www.cdc.gov/rmsf/stats/index.html

One of my nearest neighbor's kids got it here. He had the classic "ring" around the bite and the tick was fairly well gorged and swollen when they pulled it off. So it's here. But that family moved here from Indiana so they didn't grow up with the tradition of daily tick checks like folks living in rural areas here do.

But, damn, that map showing the incidents in the eastern States is sure impressive.

It would be interesting to study the tradition of "tick checks" here and there to get an idea of how that might affect those numbers.

The situation is similar to Georgia. The tick (Ixodes scapularis) is present, as are white-tailed deer, but the ecology is different. One theory is that the tick prefers lizards over white-footed mice and lizards are not a competent host for Borelia bergdorferi.

I live in a tick-thick area. I get dozens of bites every year, and I know you don't feel them and they can get places you don't always check every day (in your ear canal, in the inguinal area, on the backs of your upper arms where you can't see in the mirror without doing extreme gymnastics). The beggars will ride in to the house on your clothes and bite you during the night.

I'm diligent with checks but I've been infected with Borrelliosis. Had the rash, had the Doxycycline 100 mg BIDx21.

Hate those guys.

Not all ticks carry diseases, though. It depends on the area.

Traditionally areas with lots of deers (at least in my country), but they are now revisiting the idea it being directly linked with the amount of deers.

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