Wyoming has seen an uptick in the number of Colorado tick fever cases, the state Health Department announced Thursday, though the numbers are still relatively low.

There have been five Colorado tick fever cases reported in Wyoming so far in 2020, four of which are in Sublette County (with one more in Park County). Typically, the state reports two cases a year, if that many.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado tick fever is common in the West and can be found up into the Pacific Northwest. The incubation period for the disease is between one day and two weeks, and symptoms include “fever, chills, headache, body aches and feeling tired. Some patients have sore throat, vomiting, abdominal pain or skin rash,” according to the CDC. 

Roughly half of tick fever patients have what the CDC calls “biphasic fever,” meaning a fever that presents for several days, disappears for several more days, and then returns for a second, shorter period. The tick fever is mostly mild, and patients can recover quickly, per the CDC. But the weakness and fatigue associated with the disease may persist for weeks.

According to the state Department of Health, the disease spreads from — as the name suggests — infected Rocky Mountain wood ticks. To avoid contracting the virus, the agency recommends that people:

• “Use insect repellent, such as DEET, when outdoors;
• “Wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors;
• “Treat outdoor clothing, such as hiking clothing, with permethrin;
• “Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass;
• “Do tick checks after spending time outdoors;
• “Apply pesticides outdoors to reduce ticks in yards;
• “Clear brush, tall grass and leaf litter from yards to reduce the number of ticks”

“If you find a tick embedded on yourself or your pet, do not jerk or twist the tick to remove it,” Courtney Tillman, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the state Health Department, said in a statement. “Instead, use fine-tipped tweezers to grab the tick as close to the surface as possible and steadily pull the tick upward. You’ll also want to clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.”