-The following program is a West Tennessee PBS special presentation made possible through the generous financial support of viewers like you.

Please visit westtnpbs.org and make a donation today so that we can continue to make local programs like this possible.

Thank you.

-Measles cases continue to rise across the US.

What you need to know about recognizing symptoms and avoiding complications, coming up in health headlines.

Does it seem like more people are talking about tuberculosis?

From rising cases to a best-selling book, we visit with a TB nurse to discuss why a disease from the past is suddenly a hot topic.

That's coming up.

Still ahead, it's tick season.

A local entomologist shares what you need to know to stay safe from ticks this summer.

-Our health.

Children's health.

Senior health.

Family health.

Healthy eating.

Healthy living.

This is Channel 11 Checkup with Ginger Rowsey from the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.

-Hi, I'm Ginger Rowsey.

Thank you for joining us for this edition of Channel 11 .. A show that focuses on the health of our community.

In this show, we'll provide education and resources on health and wellness issues facing West Tennesseans.

First, here are some health headlines.

Measles cases continue to rise across the country, including a handful of cases here in Tennessee.

97% of positive cases are among unvaccinated individuals.

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that causes a red, blotchy rash which commonly appears on the face and behind the ears, spreading down the chest and back to the feet, arms, and legs.

It usually affects babies and young children, but even in previously healthy children, measles can cause serious illness, requiring hospitalization.

Fortunately, it is easily preventable through vaccination.

If you or your child have been exposed to measles or you begin exhibiting symptoms, it is important to isolate at home and immediately call your health care provider.

Most patients completely recover from measles, but one in five will develop complications that can be serious.

If you or your child has measles, keep in touch with your doctor as you monitor the progress of the disease.

With summer break approaching, it's not too early to start thinking about the next school year.

If you have a rising kindergartner or seventh grader, don't wait until August to schedule your child's immunizations.

Take advantage of the long summer break to get those appointments in.

If you have questions about required vaccines, contact us at the Health Department at 731-423-3020.

Also, if you're traveling overseas this summer, we can help you with any travel-required vaccines.

Give us a call to make an appointment.

Finally, National Nurses Week is being celebrated May 6th through 12th.

It's an opportunity to show appreciation for nurses and the invaluable contributions they make in health care every day.

This week, be sure to express your gratitude to the nurses in your community who work so hard and deliver expert care and comfort when it's needed most.

Most people think of tuberculosis as a disease that no longer plagues our world, but it isn't gone.

In fact, in 2024, it claimed the lives of more than 1 million people, making it the world's deadliest infectious disease.

Though it is less common in the US, the CDC estimates there are still 13 million people in the United States with latent TB.

Without treatment, 1 in 10 will become sick with active TB, which is highly contagious.

Earlier, we spoke with the Health Department's tuberculosis nurse, Sonya King, at the TB clinic to learn more about her work towards eliminating TB.

All right, we're here at the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department's tuberculosis clinic with our TB nurse, Sonya King.

Sonya, thanks for being with us.

-Sure.

-Tell me how long you've been a TB nurse.

-16 years.

I've been in public health 19 years, TB nurse 16 years.

-Wow.

You've seen a lot of things.

What's the reaction when you tell people what you do?

-They're surprised.

A lot of people think TB disease is antiquated, that it's no longer in existence, not anything to worry about.

They're surprised to hear that there's a whole department working on TB.

-It is still very much a real disease.

-Yes.

-It's still around.

-1.25 million people, it's estimated, died from TB globally in 2024.

It's very much still here.

-Can you tell me how many patients maybe you typically see in a year?

-Honestly, I could not.

I see a lot.

-You're busy.

-I'm very busy all the time.

We treat latent TB infection and TB disease, and then we also do TB testing.

-Tell us a little background about TB, and then maybe what it does to the body.

-TB is an infectious disease.

It's been around thousands of years.

There's evidence of TB being found in Egyptian mummies, prehistoric humans.

It wasn't until 1888 that Robert Koch, a German physician, discovered and isolated the mycobacterium that causes TB.

-If someone gets TB, what's happening to them?

How do they know they have it?

What are some of the symptoms?

-When you catch TB, if you're in the latent TB infection state, you're not going to have symptoms, but if you do develop TB disease, you will eventually start having a cough, unexplained weight loss, fever, fatigue, coughing up blood, night sweats.

Those are the typical symptoms.

TB can go anywhere in the body.

-Oh.

-You can get different symptoms.

It can go to the brain, the kidneys, the spine, other areas through the blood.

-How is it spread?

-Airborne.

When someone who has active tuberculosis dise.. talks, or sings, the germs come out in the air, and then someone else breathes them in.

That's how it's spread.

-You have to be active to spread, right?

-Yes.

-Explain that difference between latent and active.

-Latent TB infection is when you breathe in the germs and your body's immune system, your germ fighters, weaken the germs.

They can put them in a sleep-like dormant state, usually aren't able to get rid of them on their own without medicine.

If you stay relatively healthy, you only have about a 2% chance of developing TB disease from the infection.

Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, there's diseases that's very common.

Those things increase your chance of converting to TB disease if you have infection.

-Make you more susceptible.

-Right.

-How is it treated?

Describe that process.

-Hopefully, if we catch you early, you'll just be taking pills.

If it's a disease, you'll be taking about nine pills a day for six to nine months.

If it's infection and you want to get that treated, we've got different options of pills that you can take.

Three months, four months, six months treatments.

You can develop TB drug-resistant tuberculosis.

If you have one of those forms of tuberculosis, you may end up having to get injections or IV infusions.

-Are you catching it through these normal routine skin tests or people coming in?

How do people [?]

-We catch them through routine skin tests that people are doing fo.. or medical reasons.

If you're on certain medications that increase your risk .. tuberculosis disease if you have TB infection, we test those and catch it that way.

Doctors refer patients to us.

We get hospital referrals.

-All kinds of different ways.

-Yes.

-They come into the health department and it can be tested and .. -Right.

Anybody can call and talk to us about getting tested.

Anyone can come and be tested.

We charge a fee for those that are low risk, but if you're high risk, we will check you also.

-Also, a household contact, I guess, would be a high-risk person.

-Correct.

-We've heard about this year, about outbreaks in Kansas City.

I know that's been in the news.

Have we had anything like that in this part of the world?

-No.

I think the most I've heard in a year here in Jack.. Tennessee, has been six in my 16 years.

I average one to two patients with active TB disease that can spread it per year.

-Those numbers seem so low, but it's so important that we keep them low.

-Exactly.

It's not that I just see the ones with disease.

I see the ones with infection that are taking treatment to prevent disease, also, and then we're doing the testing.

We do see a lot of patients.

The actual disease, thankfully, like you said, we're keeping that number low.

That's what we're here for, is to keep that number low and to eradica.. hopefully, someday.

-Because the treatments are so intense, you really h.. with your patients.

-Oh, yes.

Lots of labs, lots of follow-up.

We watch them take their medicines every day.

-It's an intense process.

I've heard you talk about it.

I do want to bring this up.

I know there's a new book out titled Everything is Tuberculosis.

It's written by John Green, who's probably best known for young adult fiction, but this is a non-fiction book.

You've been reading it.

I know we've talked about it.

What are your thoughts about the book?

-I haven't had the chance to finish it yet, but I am enjoying the book.

He writes in a style that's very easy for anyone to read and understand, even if it's a difficult topic like tuberculosis.

I'm excited that he has such a big following with such a young audience.

That's a generation of people I wouldn't think would normally pick up a book about tuberculosis and read it, but because he has such a big following, I know that a lot of his followers will read the book.

He's spreading the word about tuberculosis.

That's always a good thing.

-Absolutely.

It's important that we keep raising awareness.

An interesting anecdote from the book that talked about how the cowboy hat was a byproduct.

-I read that part.

I didn't even know that.

It was very interesting, yes.

If you read the book, you'll find lots of interesting tidbits like that that I have so far.

-A hat maker named John Setson, who you probably can put together, had TB.

He moves out west where the air is dry and realizes the hats are crap and wants to make better hats.

-Exactly.

-That's what he came up with.

That's who we have to thank for that.

A lot of interesting anecdotes like that one in the book.

What's something you wish more people knew about TB?

-I just wish more people were aware and knew that it's not something that's done away with.

I just wish more people were educated about it.

-It's a disease that, like you said, we think we've relegated to the past, but it is very much in the present.

Because we've done such a good job of treating it, sometimes it's not front of mind.

-Exactly.

-It could still very well come back.

If it's not gone completely, it's still around.

-Exactly.

-We thank you so much for being here.

-Thank you.

-We thank you for what you do.

Sonya works really hard here and is a great liaison for .. and the whole county.

We appreciate you.

-Thank you very much.

-As any parent will tell you, getting kids to eat their daily servings of fruits and vegetables can be tough.

As parents, we can't give in because fruits and veggies provide important vitamins and nutrients that will improve kids' health now and help reduce their risk of disease later on in life.

Research has shown that involving kids in meal planning and preparation can increase their fruit and vegetable consumption.

In our new segment titled Raising Healthy Eaters, we're going to highlight healthy recipes that kids will enjoy eating and helping you make.

This month's recipe combines fruit and Greek yogurt for a refreshing summertime snack.

Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles.

You'll need three cups fruit (fresh or frozen), two cups vanilla Greek yogurt.

Add fruit to blender.

Blend until combined.

Add yogurt and blend.

Pour into popsicle molds or just use small plastic cups.

Add popsicle sticks.

Freeze five to six hours.

Before serving, run hot water over cup a few seconds so popsicles slide out easily.

Enjoy.

-With the warmer weather, more people are spending time outdoors, increasing the risk of encountering disease-carrying ticks.

Six medically important tick species live in our state, and they can be more than just a summertime nuisance.

Tick-borne diseases are a major concern.

Here in West Tennessee, our most common tick-borne diseases are Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis.

Symptoms for both include fever, severe headaches, muscle aches, nausea, and a rash.

Both can because severe health problems if left untreated.

The best ways to avoid tick-borne disease is just to avoid ticks in the first place and to learn to identify ticks you do come into contact with.

To help us with this, we've invited University of Tennessee's research and extension entomologist Sebe Brown, to be with us.

Sebe, thanks so much for being with us today.

-Thank you for having me.

-All right.

Let's start a little bit about your background.

A lot of people may not know what a research and extension entomologist is, so tell us what you do.

-I work for the University of Tennessee out at the Jackson Research Station here off of Airways.

What we do with research and extension is I'm a field crop entomologist, so we do the agricultural research on yield-limiting insects and row crops or field crops.

I don't have to do it on farm, and farmers don't have to lose yield, so I can recommend best practices that I find out from my research through my extension efforts.

Extension brings the research that UT generates to the growers, to the general public.

-Managing insects is a big part of what you do.

That's what we're talking about today.

Even though the insects may not be very significant to crops, but they are significant to humans.

-Yes.

I have a PhD in entomology, so I've been through class on ticks and fire ants and [crosstalk] -You know your stuff.

-Yes.

-Knowing how to identify ticks is very important, just really for everyone, because different tick species carry different diseases.

If you do get sick, if you've had a tick bite, it'd be really important to be able to tell your doctor, "I know the type of tick that bit me."

We've got some pictures of some ticks that we have here in Tennessee, and we'll just throw those up if you want to go through the list and tell us maybe how we can identify these different ticks.

-Okay.

The six ticks that we have in Tennessee are the American dog tick, the Asian longhorned tick, the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick.

That's how I learned them, is deer ticks.

The brown dog tick, the Gulf Coast tick, and then the lone star tick.

Identifying, well, these are hard-tick species, so they're typically separated into hard ticks and soft ticks.

We are going to run into hard ticks.

What that means is they're hard like a seed.

If you grab them, if anybody's experienced a tick, now that's not before they're engorged.

Once they get engorged, they get soft.

When you grab a tick and it's hard, feels like a seed, that's considered a hard tick.

Ticks, identification-wise, that's unlike most-- They're not technically an insect.

They're going to be an arthropod because they have more than six legs.

Other than scabies or things, they're going to actually burrow into your skin.

Most people, or you're going to see them on your pants.

That's one thing.

Ticks are very easy to spot in the environment.

Some of the ones like the Lone Star tick have a white spot on its back.

-That's easy to identify.

-That's an easy one to get.

-That's probably the easy one.

-They're also really aggressive.

Lone star ticks are probably the most aggressive tick species that we have, meaning they're-- Not to say they're going to come after you, but they're going to wind up-- Some ticks may mess around on your legs, on your pants or crawl up your socks.

Lone Star ticks are going to get to business.

They're going to crawl on you, and they're going to find a spot to feed and they're going to get to work.

-Immediately.

They're easy to spot.

They're the easiest one.

That's a very important one because not only do we see ehrlichiosis with that one, but alpha-gal syndrome, which is meat allergy.

People with that tick bite, sometimes they're not able to eat red meat.

-I've known quite a few people that have had the alpha-gal, and it upends their life.

-Absolutely.

-They're very-- Then getting to where you have alpha-gal diagnosis to where it's like, hey, red meat, I got sick and I didn't know what was going on, and it may have taken years to figure out it was from a tick bite.

-If you see a tick with a white dot, that's something very important to tell your doctor should you start having some uncomfortable symptoms later on.

-Yes.

-The American dog tick, the brown dog tick, anything really we need to know about telling those apart?

-They're going to have a modeled appearance.

They're going to be different shades of brown and black.

Not that most people want to hold a tick in their hand and let it run around, we're going to figure out what it is.

Realistically, just know that if you find a tick on you, get it off.

If you have a tick lodged in your body, the quicker you can get it off, the better.

Typically, under 24 hours is what a lot of common medical practice is.

If you can, and what I tell people is the ticks that you don't find are the ticks you need to be worried about.

Most of the time, people find ticks within 24 hours, 48 hours, because I know like me, my family, my kids, they itch just really bad and then I'll look and there's a tick.

-Sure enough, there's a tick.

That brings up another good question because ticks do tend to-- they crawl over a lot of real estate to get to a spot.

A lot of ticks choose the spots that they choose to feed on.

-As far as where they choose on us spots, it's where skin is thin.

Under your arms and where your belt goes.

I've had ticks behind my knees, I've had them on my back.

I had one last year that got in my beard and fed right there.

-Oh no, oh goodness.

-They're very opportunistic.

They will feed where they can, but a lot of times they will pick a spot on your skin where your skin may be thinner.

Under the arms is really susceptible.

Hairlines is another one, somewhere they can get, they're going to be secluded.

A lot of times you're not going to see a tick on the back of your hand because you'll see it and you'll get rid of it.

It's going to be more secluded spots on your body.

Belt lines, belly buttons are another one.

Under your arms, on the back, on your back of your arm.

That's going to be where you're typically going to find them.

-How can we just avoid ticks?

What are some good ways?

Just avoiding them is the best thing, but how do we do this?

-I'm a very big outdoors person.

My family's very outdoorsy.

We go outside all the time.

I don't want to limit people's activity outside.

Realistically, they're going to be in hot, tall grass, brushy, wooded areas.

If you've got areas in your landscape around your house that are brushy or wooded, a lot of times if you're going to put, say, a park bench out or a kid's swing set, the typical wisdom is you need to be roughly about 10 feet away.

That's at a minimum.

If you can put it the further away possible, the better.

Mow your grass.

Low mowed.

Low mowing grass will help reduce the amount of ticks .. in your yard.

Now, you can still get ticks on short g.. but what happens is it's ticks that crawl up to the very top of tall grass and they do what's called questing.

They look for hosts.

Heat, CO2, what we breathe out, movement, sometimes if you cast a shadow over them, that'll cue them to get ready to look for a host.

-Oh, wow.

-Something else that's a big one is wild anim..

If you have a lot of deer, raccoons, squirrels, possums, whatever, coming through your yard, they will bring ticks with them.

Typically, some of the worst tick places that I've ever seen is when a lot of wildlife has moved through.

If you can put up barrier fencing.

I know you're not going to really stop a deer unless you have a tall fence, but if you can reduce the amount of wildlife in your yard or an area where your kids play or you garden or play, that's going to help reduce your tick populations.

-Got you.

What about products, repellents, .. What are the best ones?

-The one that I like to use as an entomologist, and I'm also a turkey hunter, is that we use a product called Permethrin.

The product that you can see, we get at Walmart, Academy, is called Sawyer.

It comes in a yellow bottle.

There's aerosol and spray.

Then it gives you the instructions on how to treat your clothing.

What you do is you lay your clothes out on a deck or somewhere outside, spray it till they're wet, and then let them dry.

You don't wear it.

Don't spray your kids with it.

Don't spray yo.. -This is not something you spray on your body.

-This is not something you spray on your body.

This is a clothing treatment.

You can treat tents with it, you can treat chairs with it.

You let it dry, and then you can wear it.

Actually, Permethrin is an insecticide, but it's safe once it's dry.

Kids can wear it, adults can wear it, typically.

Once it's dry, it becomes very safe to use.

Then ticks crawl on it, and they'll actively fall off.

The nature of the insecticide has a repellency effect to it.

-Got you.

-That works.

There's also DEET, Picaridin is another one.

Those are not going to be as effective as Permethrin.

-Permethrin is the active ingredient.

Look for that.

-Permethrin is the active ingredient.

Sawyer's would be that example, not as effective as Sawyer's.

DEET, Picaridin, those are both active ingredients.

They're sprayed on the skin.

Now, they're not going to be as effective.

They're more effective for mosquitoes than they are for ticks.

That's what you can use if you want to use a type of repellent.

They make some natural ones that have peppermint and eucalyptus and D-limonene, which is a concentrate in citrus.

There's marginal efficacy with those.

-Got you.

There are options.

-There are options out there.

-Your recommendation is the product with Permethrin.

-Yes.

-What about time of day?

Do ticks really apply by those rules?

-They ..

Typically, I've seen ticks active in the very early morning.

I've seen them in the afternoon.

They're going to be anywhere mid-morning to midday.

They're going to be active.

They're going to be when the sun-- if you're going to cast a shadow.

Now, when it gets really hot, especially during the heat of the summer, a lot of times insects will move down in the canopy of wherever they are.

If we're really, really hot, ticks may not be up at the top questing for a host.

We're very temperate here in Tennessee, so they're going to be out and about most of the day.

-Some really good information that you've shared with us about identifying ticks and being able to avoid them.

Anything else you'd like to say?

-The thing is, I know ticks, they scare a lot of people.

I'm a parent.

I have two children.

I pulled four off my son last year and five off my daughter.

The thing is we just monitor them.

It shouldn't scare people to go outside.

You should not be afraid of ticks to not go outdoors.

If you look at a tick, remove it.

There are plenty of good online resources how to correctly remove a .. Then monitor the site, monitor your symptoms.

If you feel like you have rash, fever, things that-- or if you get a bullseye, the bullseye around the spot, go to your doctor -Absolutely.

-That's not something-- It's one of those where we don't want to.. Don't put it off.

As a guy, I'm going to put off going to a doctor as long as I can.

Don't put it off six months to a year, because if you do have alpha-gal or Lyme disease or something, symptoms gradually worsen over time.

That's something to really keep-- Make sure if you have a tick, remove it.

Then if it makes you comfortable, you can save it and take it to the doctor.

I have people do that.

The best thing to do is stick it in a Ziploc and put it in the freezer and keep it, or if you get a pimento jar that comes in-- if you're making pimento cheese, a small jar, put some isopropyl alcohol in it, throw it in there.

It'll kill it, number one, and it'll preserve it.

You can hang on to it, and if something comes up, you can take it with you if that's of help to a doctor.

-If you don't want to get your-- -Yes, if you don't want to get your microscope out.

-Get your microscope out and identify it, tha.. -Another option is utilize the county agents we have in Tennessee.

-Oh, that's good.

-Bring it by the county agent, and then they should be able to help you identify it.

Then if not, they'll send it to me or send it to-- We have a medical entomologist in Knoxville.

If it's more specialized, I can send it to her and she can help me with it.

-Got you.

-We have resources.. -That's right.

UT Extension in every county in the state.

Thank you so much for being with us.

We appreciate it.

Some great knowledge about how to avoid ticks this summer.

-Thank you.

-It's now time for our check-up Q&A, and our first question comes from a local mom.

"What can we do to treat measles at home if our kids get it?"

Thank you for that question.

Unfortunately, there is no at-home treatment for.. isolating and staying in touch with your healthcare provider as you monitor symptoms.

There's not much else you can do.

Now, you can treat symptoms and make a measles patient more comfortable by giving them plenty of fluids and encouraging rest.

You can also use a humidifier to moisten the air to help relieve a cough and sore throat.

Our next question is, does vitamin A lessen severity and symptoms of the measles?

Thank you for the opportunity to answer that question.

Vitamin A does not prevent measles, but it may help prevent the illness from becoming more severe in people who already have measles.

During a measles infection, the virus depletes the vitamin A in the body, and when the body does not have enough vitamin A, it may also increase the risk of serious illness and even death from measles.

If your child has measles, your doctor can give two doses of vitamin A, 24 hours apart, to treat vitamin A deficiency caused by measles.

It is given for just two days and does not cure the infection, but can prevent it from becoming more severe.

If your child does not have measles, you should not give vitamin A to your child in the hopes of preventing the disease.

There is no dose of vitamin A that will protect them or anyone else in your family from being infected with measles.

It is important to note that large doses of vitamin A can be toxic and make your child sick.

Next question.

Let's change the subject a little bit here.

How much does it cost to adopt a pet from rabies control?

Adult animals are $25.

Puppies and kittens are $10.

There's also a $12 vaccination fee and a $1 dog registration fee for Madison County residents.

Depending on the animal, total adoption costs range from $22 to $38.

Additionally, there is a $25 spay-neuter deposit that will be refunded upon proof of a spay or neuter procedure within 30 days of adoption.

We appreciate all of your questions and hope we have been able to provide some answers.

Don't forget, if you have questions abou.. or even services offered at the Health Department, we'd like to hear from you.

Send us your questions and we'll get them answered in our checkup Q&A.

That email is 11checkup@westtennesseepbs.org.

Before we leave, a few last thoughts.

We want to recognize our Emergency Response Team at the Health Department, as well as all of our local first responders in West Tennessee, for their dedication and service during April's severe .. Quick action and cooperation undoubtedly saved lives.

For those who put in long hours during the emergency situation, we see you and appreciate all you do.

We also want to offer our continued prayers and support to the communities of Selmer and Grand Junction as you recover and rebuild from the devastation.

We want to thank our guest, Sonya King, with Jackson-Madison County R.. and Sebe Brown with the University of Tennessee Extension for being part of our show.

Of course, we finally want to thank you for joining us on this episode of Channel 11 Checkup.

I'm Ginger Rowsey.

Thanks for being with us, and we'll check in next time.

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