Topanga Tick Case Prompts County Tests

With evidence that ticks in the Santa Monica Mountains could carry Lyme disease, Ventura County health officials said Thursday they plan to start testing area ticks for the debilitating disease.

A tick, removed from a hiker who frequents Topanga State Park, tested positive for the bacteria that cause the disease, Los Angeles County officials reported this week.

After hearing about the Topanga case, Ventura County health officials decided Wednesday to start testing ticks for the first time since 1991, when a 34-year-old Foster Park woman came down with the disease.

Authorities believe she had been infected in the Camp Comfort area south of Ojai.

Every year, environmental health inspectors collect ticks in the Santa Monica Mountains, which extend into eastern Ventura County, and perform a population study.

“This year we will submit some for testing as soon as we get a break in the weather,” said Randy Smith, environmental health specialist. “This is the season when you do find more adults than usual, but when it’s raining and really wet you won’t find them.”

Smith says he will decide whether to post warnings at Ventura County sites when the test results come back, probably two weeks after the samples are submitted.

Although authorities have suspected that ticks carrying the disease have existed for several years in Southern California, they said the most recent finding--if confirmed with further tests on other ticks--would solidify those suspicions.

They recommended that all outdoor enthusiasts wear bright, long clothes, tuck pants into socks and wear tick repellent. In addition, they recommended checking for ticks daily after hiking outdoors.

“We want to caution everybody about this,” said Robert Saviskas, the head of Los Angeles County’s West Vector Control District, at a news conference in the state park Thursday morning. “Until we have further confirmation, it’s in the best interests of the public to take the precautions against ticks that they should have been taking all along.”

Lyme disease has long been a fact of life for those living on the East Coast, where up to 90% of the ticks in some areas are infected with the malady. In California, the majority of cases of the disease have been reported in Northern California.

Health officials have thought that ticks carrying the disease existed in Los Angeles since they have diagnosed at least four cases since 1989 where evidence pointed to a local source of origin. A total of 28 cases have been reported by Los Angeles County authorities since 1989. Some 2,118 cases have been reported in California since 1983.

Also, Lyme-carrying ticks have been found at Ft. Tejon in Kern County and in San Bernardino County, said Dr. Robert Murray, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health Services.

The disease, which can also affect dogs and horses, is transmitted through the Western black-legged tick, a much smaller cousin of the more common dog tick. In California, only 1% to 2% of the pinhead-sized ticks carry the disease, though in some pockets the number is significantly higher, health officials said.

In most cases, the tick must feed between 12 to 24 hours before transmitting the disease, which can be treated with antibiotics in the early stages. A vaccine against the disease will probably receive Food and Drug Administration approval within the year.

Early symptoms are flu-like and can include a red rash similar to a bull’s-eye surrounding the initial bite. Later symptoms include severe soreness in the joints and neurological problems such as loss of memory. In rare cases, the disease can be fatal.

The best defense against the disease, however, is prevention, health officials said. Besides light clothing and repellent, they also recommended checking for ticks at the hairline, behind ears and in the groin area.

Times correspondents Claire Vitucci and Dawn Hobbs contributed to this report.

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An Elusive Illness

Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose because the tick-borne illness causes a range of debilitating symptoms that can be interpreted as other diseases. The disease can be easily treated in its early stages and a vaccine should be available within the year. Here is a lookat the infectious malady:

Symptoms

Tick bite

Bull’s-eye rash

Flu-like discomfort

Joint pain

Fatigue

Headache

Lack of concentration

Facial paralysis

Prevention tips

* Wear long, light-colored clothing when outdoors, including long pants tucked into socks, long-sleeved shirts, and hats.

* Use tick repellent spray on outside of clothes.

* Avoid areas with long grass. When walking on trails, walk in the center and avoid the brush.

* Look for ticks after outdoor activities. They usually are found around the knees, neck, groinand back.

* If you find one, carefully pull it out without tearing the head.

Note: Most ticks need to be embedded for 12 to 24 hours to spread the disease.

State health officials say only 1% to 2% of ticks in California carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.