Ticks are heavy in Illinois this year, and the head of the health department says one of the two ticks identified as especially harmful has made its way to Morgan County.
Dale Bainter is the administrator of the health department and has already seen evidence of the ticks on his family farm.
Bainter says there are two that threaten humans.
He says the black legged tick can carry Lyme’s disease. The other dangerous tick is the Lone Star Tick.
Bainter says the Lone Star tick was first found in Texas. He says the bite from the tick can produce an allergy to red meat.
He says there are chemicals in the tick bite that react to Alfa Gal molecules, and meat contains Alga Gal..
Bainter says the allergy has no treatment. He says sometimes it fades away, but other times it does not.