San Diego ticks rarely carry Lyme disease — but you can still get sick from a bite

Emily Coffey
Posted

SAN DIEGO COUNTY (KGTV) — Ticks in San Diego generally don't test positive for Lyme disease — and the reason may surprise you.

The CDC issued a warning earlier this year, saying emergency room visits for tick bites are up nationwide, except in the South Central United States. UC Health in San Diego said it hasn't seen a high volume of patients come in for tick bites in an email statement.

But that doesn't mean you won't get bitten — or won't get sick.

San Diego is home to two species of ticks: the western blacklegged tick and the Pacific Coast tick. The western blacklegged tick is the species that carries Lyme disease, but researchers say they haven't found evidence of local ticks carrying it for a while.

"Here in San Diego, we do regularly go out, survey for ticks," Allison Bray, a program coordinator for the vector control program with the county, said. "And we actually haven't detected Lyme disease in a tick within the last five to 10 years here in San Diego County."

Bray with the county's vector control program said the region's climate plays a role — and so might the local lizard population.

"Some of that is our climate. It is generally believed that some of the lizards in our area have the ability to clear out the Lyme bacteria from ticks, so the young ticks will feed on a lizard, they will basically become detoxified."

The Pacific Coast tick, however, carries Pacific Coast fever, which presents like the flu. People may not even know they contracted it from a tick bite. That tick can also carry tularemia, which can be more serious.

Bray recommended wearing protective clothing, carrying bug spray, and checking your body after hikes — especially the warmer areas of the body, like underarms or between the legs. If you have a dog, check underneath its collar as well, particularly during the summer months.

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