Cases of Lyme Disease increased by 1300% between 2009 and 2017. Due to climate change ticks are spreading across Canada. This will mean an increase in Lyme Disease.
May 6th, 2019 Global News article on Ticks on MSN. (2)
Director of Public Health Risk Sciences warns due to climate change ticks are spreading across Canada. This will mean an increase in Lyme Disease.
According to Nick Ogden the director of public health risk sciences, the tick population continues to expand; Lyme disease cases increased from 144 in 2009 to 2,025 in 2017. Ticks are moving between 35-55 km per year. Now people in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and all of Nova Scotia are at risk of Lyme’s Disease.
The new Lyme disease risk areas:
In Ontario – Thunder Bay, Peel region, Ottawa area (has a high percentage of ticks carrying the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease)
In Quebec – Gatineau and southwest parts of Outaouais, northwest of the Estrie region, parts of Montérégie, southwest of Mauricie and Centre-du-Quebec.
In Manitoba – the southern part of the province such as Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, and Sprague.
In New Brunswick – counties around Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton.
In Nova Scotia – entire province.
Prevention:(1)(2)
- Ticks are mostly found in wooded areas, be vigilant in doing a body check after being in the woods (check from head to toe…ticks love getting to the hard to see and reach body areas…your cracks and crevices)
- Wear light coloured clothing to help see any ticks that have hitched onto your clothing.
- Wear tick repellents, such as PiACTIVE™ (containing Icaridin) and Mosquito Shield™ Insect Repellents (for ticks, mosquitoes and black flies containing DEET.
- Don’t forget to check your clothing for ticks.
Signs and symptoms:(1)(2)
- Ticks have an anesthetic, therefore, you won’t feel them when they start to have their “blood meal”
- An early sign is an expanding red rash or bullseye on the skin which usually starts 3 to 30 days after you have been bitten by an infected black-legged tick.
- Early symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://a.msn.com/01/en-ca/AAAW54O?ocid=se
Check out our blog posts “Strip and Search me….please!” for the story of our own encounter with ticks and “Public Health Officials warn about the dangers of ticks in Eastern Ontario”
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