WEST OLIVE, Mich. — A new tick is reported to be in town after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) notified Ottawa County it was discovered near Kirk Park in West Olive earlier this month.
"This is a unique species to have in Michigan, not one that we see. We actually had a family that contacted MDHHS that had found the tick on their child's leg, and so they provided a picture to MDHHS to identify it as a lone star tick," said Adeline Hambley, health officer at Ottawa Department of Public Health.
The lone star tick is native to the southeast region of the U.S. and has a distinctive white star marking on its back.
"Over the years, it has been moving farther and farther north, and so it's, I guess, not completely unexpected that we would eventually see it here. We're seeing anecdotally, a higher prevalence of ticks right now for people that are out walking or kind of in those grassy bushy areas, definitely," said Hambley.
Hambley said ticks can be found in very woodsy and grassy areas. She also said the lone star tick bites and spreads illnesses. However, it does so less than the black legged ticks common to West Michigan.
"Of the diseases that they are able to spread, is called Alpha-gal, and that is the red meat allergy. So it causes people that eat red meat actually have anaphylaxis type reaction, and so you can no longer eat red meat," said Hambley.
The Ottawa Department of Public Health is currently doing surveillance in the area where the lone star tick was found. As far as what you can do to keep yourself and your pets safe while you're out walking? Hambley said people need to protect themselves when they're outside.
"Put on bug spray, wear long pants, check your pets, check your children, check yourself when you get home, just to make sure you're not carrying any ticks back with you. Prevent that tick from latching and staying on, connected, biting you for any length of time," said Hambley.
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