Tick disease on rise in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) - Santa Cruz County is under a rising threat after new research revealed that there is an increase in a bacterial infection coming from ticks.

Anaplasmosis is a bacterial infection, contracted by a tick bite, that can cause fever, headache, chills, and muscle aches.

There has been an climb in the disease, according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council.

“There’s not a lot of awareness in California because most people think it's primarily a disease of the upper Midwest and Northeast,” Dr. Jane Sykes, a UC Davis professor of veterinary medicine, said.

This infection can affect both animals and people and in a data pool of a little over 7600 pets results from the CAPC study showed that 1 in 20 pets in Santa Cruz tested positive for this disease. 

Sykes described what symptoms in a pet may look like if they have been infected.

“They kind of look depressed, dull, they don’t want to move," Sykes said. "They have a fever, and sometimes they can develop vomiting.”

There are a couple of things that you can do at home to help prevent against a tick potentially giving you a disease, according to the Santa Cruz County website.

If you are coming out to a trail, stick to the center of the path to help avoid bushy and grassy areas (where ticks love to live).

Another tip is to wear long sleeves and long pants to help avoid skin-to-skin contact and lighter clothes to make it easier to spot a tick.

Most importantly, when you get home, make sure that to inspect pets, other family members and yourself for ticks.

Eileen Russell is a professional dog walker that lives in Santa Cruz and she once had a scare.

"I've had a tick on me before and, you know, luckily got it out with tweezers but they're around," Russell said.

She said she is constantly outside with the dogs and purposefully avoids areas that she knows ticks like to live. 

"I try not to go into areas where I know there are ticks like high grass," Russell said. "Just kind of go over either brushing or with my fingers going over the dogs and also myself. 

This disease is not contagious, but it is something that requires medical attention and treatment whether it is you or your pet that is affected.