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Tick
Removal & Testing Procedures:
Proper
Tick Removal
- With a fine point
tweezer, grasp tick at place of attachment, as close to skin as
possible
- Pull tick
straight out - try not to squeeze the body
- If submitting for
testing, place in plastic bag or small container - it does not
need to be alive.
- Wash your hands,
disinfect the tweezer, and the bite site - use rubbing alcohol
- Call your doctor
for advice on treatment - about 25% of ticks are infected with
Lyme Disease.
Submitting
Ticks to the Torrington Area Health District for Testing
(This is a
service for communities
in the Torrington Area Health District only)
New Procedure effective Mar. 15, 2008
- Tick
should have been attached to the body for at least 24 hours
- Place
tick in airtight plastic bag
- DO
NOT immerse in alcohol or water
- DO
NOT tape tick to paper
- Label
bag with victim’s name, address and date
- Click
here to print form
- Complete
form
- Staple
form to tick bag –Drop off at Torrington Area Health
District (Monday.– Friday 8AM to 4PM)
- Results
will be mailed to the address on the form in 4 – 6 weeks
Submitting
a tick….
- Effective
January 1, 2006, we will accept all ticks for identification
but test only those Ixodes scapularis ticks that have ingested
human blood (engorged). We will examine all ticks for degree
of engorgement. Laboratory personnel will test engorged
black-legged ("deer") ticks (Ixodes scapularis) and,
upon special request, certain other species of ticks for the
presence of spirochetes that cause Lyme disease. We will not
test the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), larval
ticks of all species, or unengorged ticks.
Information on Lyme
Disease is based on scientific and medical sources including
research done by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control, the Connecticut Dept. of Public
Health, and
the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
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