Paralysis Ticks and Mammalian Meat Allergies on Catalyst.

By Birding-Aus, on February 17th, 2015

There was an interesting segment on the ABC’s Catalyst tonight. It has recently been found that bites by paralysis ticks can cause allergic reactions to all mammalian meats, even years after the tick bite, if the tick is not removed properly. The reactions can be mild but there have been an increasing number of cases of anaphylaxis occurring. Also the incidence of allergic reactions to tick bites occurring post paralysis tick bites. Well worth viewing by birders on the east coast or who have or are planning to bird in that area. One medico gave a rather disturbing description of category 4 allergic reaction (the most severe), “make sure your will is up to date, and we will see what we can do to save you”. Good old medical sense of humour. Carl Clifford

Birding-Aus mailing list
Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org
To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org

mcachard

February 18, 2015 at 7:34 pm

yep same up here for me too, I swear by OFF, works a treat for all of these nasties include ticks & leeches!! I do get out there amongst it a lot up here too… cheers, martin cachard, cairns

goodfellow

February 18, 2015 at 2:18 pm

Carl, I use OFF as well, and have always advised friends and clients to do the same. Regards Denise Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award, 2004. 043 8650 835 On 18 Feb 2015, at 10:30 am, Carl Clifford < carlsclifford@gmail.com> wrote:

carlsclifford

February 18, 2015 at 11:00 am

David, I have been using OFF!, a picaridin based repellent for a few years now, and find it excellent. Not only works well on insects, but is good for leeches as well. I have even used to repel bed bugs in SE Asia. I would not go back to using a DEET based repellent. Carl Clifford

dpadams

February 18, 2015 at 7:10 am

Carl, Thanks for the notice and thanks to Paul for the link. What a disturbing but well done piece! I’ve got a few suggestions on insect repellants that I thought I’d pass along to anyone that hasn’t been as paranoid about bugs as me. As it turns out, there’s a lot of research on what works and what doesn’t for ticks and mossies. The US Army and ADF have done projects together since both deploy troops into areas with horrific insect-born disease. Off the top of my head: * Yes, the US Army and ADF managed to invent a 100% effective insect repellant system, when applied. When applied. So horrible that people weren’t compliant. It doesn’t work if you don’t use it…which is why I like Picaradin rather than DEET. * DEET is effective against mossies, not so much for ticks. It’s also greasy, nasty, and tends to melt plastics. Not ideal for birders. * Picaradin (available here in Aus – look for no mention of DEET on the front and ‘goes on like water’ as a claim. The ingredients list will list Picaradin.) I love this stuff for mossies! I think I’ve converted most of the local bird club to my way of thinking on this. Picaradin doesn’t smell bad, isn’t greasy and doesn’t seem to melt plastic instantly like DEET. It works great for mossies. Ticks? I’m not sure. * Mossies can bite you without you knowing it and ticks can certainly bite you long before you notice. If you’re anything like me, I think of putting on insect repellant *after* I’m needing it. That’s okay when they’re an irritant, not good when they may be carrying something horrible like Malaria or Dengue. This leads to Permethrin. This chemical is based on a natural compound but is entirely synthetic, as I understand it. If you apply it to your skin, it breaks down and does you no good. Instead, you use it to treat your clothes. An application lasts for many weeks and is highly effective against mosquitoes and *even more effective against ticks.” Mossies it repels, ticks it kills. The stuff is amazing, you can be standing in a damp, dark mossie-infested pit/birder’s paradise and nothing lands on you. Magic. * Permethrin-like chemicals (pyrethroids) in other formulations are built into clothes and netting as long-lasting insect repellants (That’s what’s going on with those five-year mossie nets they distribute and sell in various locations in Africa.) I’ve used long-sleeved shirts and pants like this. Fancy travel brands like ExOfficio (etc.) sell this sort of stuff. I get the SPF 30+, quick drying ones. Be forewarned: Just add binoculars and camera to make sure that you blend in with the locals anywhere. (Cough-cough.) Also, it seems like this stuff makes your sweat smell horrible in about 15 seconds. I have not found this to be so much the case when you treat normal clothes with Permethrin. So, the pre-built ones are more convenient and the repellant properties last long…but treating your own gives you more flexibility and you still get weeks of coverage. * Lots of people like botanical repellants of one sort or another. If they work for you, fantastic. Studies have shown them to be (depending on compound) ineffective to minimally effective. I like Picaradin (or DEET if I must) because I don’t have to remember to reapply the material very often. With botanicals that do work a bit, you have to reapply very, very frequently to keep the bugs away. I’m. Too. Lazy. To be honest, I only get worked up about all of this when I’m going somewhere with something horrific like Malaria…then I’m all about getting zero mossie bites…that’s the only way to be sure. (Oh, and for anyone doing Malarial prophylactics, I encourage you to consider Malarone. Much easier to tolerate than Doxycycline and you don’t have to keep taking it for so long.) Again, all of that is off the top of my head and I’m sure I’ve blurred or messed up some details….but there are a few general impressions and anecdotal reports from someone that’s tried a lot of bug repellants. If anyone has found other effective tools, please share with the list!

birder

February 17, 2015 at 8:18 pm

Thanks Carl. If you missed it (I did), the transcript and video can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4177191.htm — -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Paul Taylor Veni, vidi, tici – birder@ozemail.com.au I came, I saw, I ticked.

Birding-Aus

Paralysis Ticks and Mammalian Meat Allergies on Catalyst.

5 comments to Paralysis Ticks and Mammalian Meat Allergies on Catalyst.

Mailing List

Book Search

Meta