August 7, 2023
Summertime is buggy
Summer is in full swing. We had our first appreciable rain in weeks overnight. My garden is sighing in relief. My tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are ripening. That wasn’t always the case in Seattle. When I first moved here in 1990, growing a ripe tomato was nigh impossible. We’d joke that summer came here after the 5th of July and re-named June “Junuary” to emphasis the cool nights. People didn’t need air conditioning, or even screens on their windows. Really. Coming from the south, I was shocked. Where were all the mosquitos, chiggers, and ticks? Not to mention the roaches. Fearful of chiggers for my first years here, I wouldn’t sit directly on grass, sure I’d come up with itchy bites. Took a long time to relax and enjoy a cool lawn! Ripening tomatoes have become a sign of climate change to me.
As if worrying about COVID 19 isn’t enough, we have bugs to think about. Insects are happy with summer, including the hornet that stung me while I was picking some blackberries today. As a physician, I didn’t worry often that my patients in Western Washington might have a tick born illness like Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Ticks were rare. That’s changing with climate change. Tick born diseases are spreading, with several new ones including Babesiosis and Tularemia. Much more prevalent in New England and the upper midwest, but now found in almost every state. The CDC has guides to help ID the different types of ticks, which carry specific diseases. The best prevention is preventing tick bites. The CDC has helpful advice and recommends antibiotic prophylaxis if the tick was an Ixodes (blacklegged) tick to prevent Lyme. Other diseases have no preventive meds yet.
Mosquitos can be vectors too, carrying diseases like West Nile virus and Zika, in hotter parts of the country including California, Arizona, the midwest and Florida. Older people are more susceptible to West Nile virus. But recently, other mosquito associated diseases have been found in south Texas and south Florida. Not to scare you but malaria and Dengue fever have been found in those locales.
Preventing bites is key. You can find repellents that prevent both tick and mosquito bites if you are in a risky area. Check out the ingredient information on the label to help you find it for sale. Clothes treated with permethrin are also effective preventing both ticks and mosquito bites.
Insect repellents work. Personally I’ve hated DEET since it melted the red plastic cover on my Swiss army knife years ago. I was happy to find Picaridin (known as KBR 3023 and icaridin outside the US) as an effective alternative. It lasts for 12 hours. Look at the ingredient label to find it. Sawyer and Natrapel are two brands in the US. IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), 2-undecanone all have data that show they work but need to be applied more often. Find the right repellant for you by using the EPA’s search tool. So much to think about to stay healthy!
As far as COVID, signs are that infections are picking up again. The CDC is watching, looking for signs of an early fall wave. Health Departments are monitoring levels of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID 19, in wastewater. Rising levels can be the first sign that more people are infected. Even the Jefferson County Department of Health recently found higher levels in Port Townsend, WA. Testing is less frequent since the free testing went away, so public statistics of positive tests are less useful. Hospitalizations are slowly rising too. Those who are older or have decreased immune systems are the most at risk for complications.
All reminders to protect ourselves as needed. Get your permethrin treated clothes and a good insect repellent, mask up if you need to, know how to get Paxlovid if you have risks, get your booster. But have some fun too. Don’t let anything stop you!
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/overview.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/tickID.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/tick-bites-prevention.html
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/outdoor/mosquito-borne/default.html
https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-bites/prevent-mosquito-bites.html
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icaridin
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/repellency-awareness-graphic
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/tips-prevent-mosquito-bites
https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/repellent-treated-clothing
https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/07/07/1075979/covid-hasnt-entirely-gone-away-heres-where-we-stand/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/28/1190443473/the-cdc-sees-signs-of-a-late-summer-covid-wave
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/summer-brings-covid-19-uptick-amid-renewed-travel-socializing-how-bad-will-it-get/
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/amid-signs-of-a-covid-uptick-researchers-brace-for-the-new-normal/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/health/covid-rise.html
https://jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/1466/Case-Information?fbclid=IwAR2pNFQiOiJ-dYPMr0h_JBf7Sw0BFizoF_qOAeHr2MZNJpidbDGaOg_8RyA
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=jefferson%20public%20health
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?itid=sn_coronavirus_1/
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/covid-or-a-summer-cold-without-free-tests-many-wont-know/