This summer, as you jog along a scenic West Point trail or play in the yard with your kids, be aware of tiny, frequently-overlooked, bloodthirsty creatures just waiting to hitch a ride on an uncovered leg or arm. These bloodsucking parasites are ravenous, virtually undetectable and may carry Lyme disease.

Yes, I’m talking about ticks. And there are plenty of them to talk about.

According to the national Lyme disease Web site (www.lyme.org), there are more than 850 tick species, about 100 of which are capable of transmitting diseases.

The Web site states that, in the U.S., five varieties -- Amblyomma (lone star tick), Dermacentor (American dog, Rocky Mountain wood, pacific coast ticks), Ixodes (black-legged or deer ticks, Western black-legged ticks), Ornithodoros and Rhipicephalus (brown dog ticks) -- transmit to humans the vast majority of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa and toxins. One of those diseases is Lyme.

Medical experts state that Lyme disease is an inflammatory illness that first appears on the skin as either a red rash on light-skinned people or a bruise on dark-skinned people that radiates from the site of the tick bite. The rash is warm to the touch but painless and does not itch. It is accompanied or followed by flu-like symptoms, which include fever, chills, headache, stiffness and fatigue.

The symptoms generally appear 3 to 32 days following a bite and, if left untreated, may lead to more severe complications such as arthritis, heart and neurological problems. It could take weeks, months or years for the illness to reach the severe stage.

The New England Journal of Medicine posted results of a study Tuesday that proved a quick dose of antibiotics can ward off Lyme disease after a tick bite.

The study, conducted in Westchester County, N.Y., by the New York Medical College of Valhalla, found that just two pills of doxycycline are highly effective if given within three days of a bite.

According to the study’s chief author, Dr. Robert B. Nadelman, many experts have opposed giving antibiotics to people bitten by deer ticks because there has been no clear evidence that the treatement actually prevents the disease.

"Ours is the first study to show that Lyme disease can be prevented after a tick bite," he said.

The study involved 482 people who had removed a deer tick from their bodies and brought it with them to the doctor. They were randomly given either a 200-milligram dose of doxycycline or dummy pills.

The antibiotic was 87 percent effective at preventing Lyme disease, even though the overall risk was low, just 3 percent among those getting the dummy pills. In fact, Nadelman said, the study showed that even in a Lyme-infested area, deer tick bites rarely result in infection. However, he said doctors should still consider treating those from high-risk areas.

"It may make sense to treat people bitten by nymphal stage deer ticks in an area where Lyme is common."

According to Keller Army Community Hospital officials here, one third of all Lyme disease cases nationwide come from New York state, and West Point has the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the Army.