Minnesota health officials announced that bites from blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) led to a record number of tick-borne diseases during 2007 such as Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis. These three illnesses can all lead to serious complications.

According to the statistics, bites from blacklegged ticks led to 1,239 cases of Lyme disease (a potentially serious bacterial infection affecting both humans and animals); 322 cases of human anaplasmosis (a bacterial disease less common that Lyme disease) and 24 cases of babesiosis (a protozoan infection from the same black-legged ticks). These numbers exceeded by far those registered in the previous years. For example, there were 1,023 cases of Lyme disease in 2004, 186 of human anaplasmosis in 2005 and 18 cases of babesiosis in 2006.

Symptoms of these illnesses include fever, severe headache, muscle aches, chills and shaking, similar to the symptoms of influenza. Most cases can be successfully treated with a few weeks of antibiotics.

“Minnesota continues to be one of the highest-risk states for diseases from black-legged ticks,” Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist for the Minnesota Department of Health said as quoted by the local newspaper Minneapolis Star Tribune.

She also added that the last year’s increase is a clear sign that people aren’t taking precautions. “If you visit or live in forested parts of Minnesota during late spring and early summer, you must protect yourself from tick bites to avoid developing Lyme disease or other tick-born illnesses.”

Kemperman urged people to check themselves for ticks; use tick repellents containing DEET or permethrin; wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts; wear light-colored clothing so ticks can be easily seen; and avoid the tick-infected areas (wooded, brushy areas) during the peak time of year (generally mid May through mid July).

In order to reduce the number of ticks around houses, people should keep lawns mowed, brush trimmed and leaf litter away from the home and also keep trails or paths in wooded areas on their property clear of vegetation.