Pennsylvania Game News - January 2025 - 15

TICKS BITE!
The season that led to Jamie Ulrich getting his fl intlock buck almost ended before
it began.
In August, he and his wife were moving their daughter Casey, fresh off graduating
from culinary school, to Asheville, N.C., to work at the Biltmore Estate, the 250room
home of George Vanderbilt, turned museum and tourist attraction. Ulrich
started feeling sick on the drive. Two days of fevers high enough to confi ne him to
bed followed, with a trip to the hospital in Hendersonville next.
Doctors poked and prodded, taking blood " like vampires " in searching for what
ailed him. There was talk of cancer.
" Then, after four days, they found out that I had gotten, all at once, from one bite,
three tick-borne diseases from a Pennsylvania tick, " Ulrich said.
He had Lyme, but babesiosis and ehrlichiosis, too.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of those
who contract babesiosis exhibit no symptoms. But because it can lead to hemolytic
anemia - a condition where red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be
replaced - babesiosis can be life-threatening for others, including those older than 50.
Ehrlichiosis, meanwhile, can present similar symptoms, including fever, chills,
headache, muscle aches and upset stomach.
Ultimately, Ulrich spent six days in the hospital and months feeling " just not
myself. "
" Going into September, I wasn't sick anymore, but I was weak, " Ulrich said. " So
even that early muzzleloader season, I harvested a deer with my inline and I needed
help getting it out of the woods, which isn't typical for me. "
He was fi nally back to normal by the time fl intlock season rolled around, so getting
a buck then " sort of topped everything off . "
Of course, it's best to avoid ticks altogether. But that's not necessarily easy here.
According to the state Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania typically ranks in the
top 10 in the country for Lyme disease cases per 100,000 residents.
But there are ways to minimize your risk.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health recommends covering exposed skin
when outside, wearing light colors when practical to help detect ticks, and using insect
repellent that is Environmental Protection Agency-approved for tick prevention.
Before going outside, spray permethrin on shoes, clothes and gear. After being
outside, check yourself - and your kids and pets - for ticks and remove any attached.
Then, shower to help remove any you may have missed. Finally, throw your clothes
in the dryer on high heat to help kill any remaining.
Count Ulrich, who works outside as a conservation program specialist for the State
Conservation Commission, as a follower of that advice, much more so than before.
" I never even got to see the Biltmore Estate, so live and learn, " he
said.
Additional information about tick-borne illnesses - including
where and when most incidents occur and how to get ticks tested - is
available on Pennsylvania's Tickborne Diseases Dashboard.
JANUARY 2025
15
Pennsylvania Game News - January 2025

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