Dangers of tick bites, rare diseases in Missouri
The Center for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Senior Services finished the first week of a study at Meramec park on Friday. Their study aims to remove ticks and test them for tick-borne diseases.
Two rare tick-borne diseases, the Bourbon and Heartland viruses, have been found in Missouri. There have been a total of four cases of Bourbon virus found in the country. Not much is known about them, but one person has died from the Heartland virus.
Symptoms include fever, headache, diarrhea and fatigue; all of which resemble symptoms of other common tick-borne diseases.
Remember to shower and check your body thoroughly after every outing. Avoid tall grass as well because your skin has to brush against a tick in order for it to latch on. If you find a tick bite, remove it carefully by pulling it directly off the skin.
For more information on Bourbon and Heartland viruses follow the links below.
More on Heartland Virus:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/heartland/index.html
More on Bourbon Virus:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/bourbon/index.html
More on Tick-Borne Diseases:
http://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/tickscarrydisease/index.php
