Ecologist claims he is IMMUNE to attacks from the disease-carrying ticks - and ... trends now
A 68-year-old ecologist in New York has claimed that his immune system kills ticks that bite him.
Richard Ostfeld has spent decades studying the critters in the Hudson Valley and been bitten hundreds of times.
The many pricks have, according to the ecologist, taught his immune cells to recognize the threat and go on the attack — in a condition called acquired tick immunity — helping to protect him from illnesses like Lyme disease.
The results are deadly for the tick and leave Dr Ostfeld with an itchy and burning 'welt' where the bite took place that takes a few days to disappear.
Richard Ostweld, 68, from New York, has revealed that he has been bitten by ticks so many times that he now has immunity to the critters
He said that when they bite him he ends up with an itchy and burning welt around the location. But the immune reaction proves fatal for the tick. He is pictured above researching tick populations in the Hudson Valley
Dr Ostweld has been running a five-year project researching ways to reduce the tick population and, thereby, cut the number of Lyme disease cases (Pictured above doing research in the Hudson Valley)
When a tick bites someone, it starts sucking the blood while releasing proteins and molecules into the host's body to help it evade detection.
But in a few cases, such as for Dr Ostfeld, the immune system has learned to recognize these proteins and launch a counterattack.
One of the main hormones it releases is histamine, which causes blood vessels to widen and draws other immune cells to the site of the attack.
It is not clear how this can prove fatal to ticks, but it is likely the tick would take up a lot of the histamine and white blood cells — which could damage its internal organs.
The condition is rare and only present in a handful of Americans. It is thought to be triggered by repeated tick bites.
Health officials regularly warn people not to get bitten by ticks, however, because of the risk of catching diseases.
Dr Ostfeld told the Insider: 'I develop an itchy, burning welt at the site of the tick bite, shortly after the tick attempts to embed its mouthparts'.
He explained this would appear even if he was bitten by a tiny larvae tick — which can be no bigger than a grain of sand — and the pain could wake him up in the night.
'It takes hours to a couple of days for any pathogens to leave the tick and enter your body,' he added.
Dr Ostfeld said his body's fast response has likely protected him
