Printed Jun 01, 2023 • 2 minute learn
Public Well being Ontario’s map of Lyme illness estimated danger areas. Photograph by equipped
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Two new areas of Gray-Bruce – together with Saugeen Shores – have been added to Public Well being Ontario’s “estimated risk areas” for Lyme illness as a result of discovery of black-legged ticks, which transmit the illness.
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There at the moment are three areas within the two counties recognized on Public Well being Ontario’s up to date Lyme Illness Map after black-legged ticks had been discovered via drag sampling. The areas overlap one another and are all positioned on the western a part of the counties close to the Lake Huron shore, together with elements of Northern Bruce Peninsula, South Bruce Peninsula, Georgian Bluffs, Saugeen Shores, Arran-Elderslie and Kincardine.
Whereas the 2 new areas have been added after the ticks had been discovered because of Gray Bruce Public Well being’s surveillance work in 2022, the well being unit mentioned there’s a likelihood of encountering infective ticks nearly anyplace within the province. The areas are calculated as a 20-kilometre radius from the centre of a location the place the ticks are discovered, with the map displaying such areas throughout a lot of southern Ontario.
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The well being unit additionally famous that not all black-legged ticks carry the micro organism that causes Lyme illness and never everybody who’s bitten by an contaminated tick will develop indicators and signs of the illness.
“While the risk of getting Lyme disease remains low, we’re asking residents to take simple measures to protect themselves from tick bites while enjoying the outdoors,” GBPH senior program supervisor Andrew Barton mentioned within the launch. “It is important to be aware of the areas where black-legged ticks are known to live or in potential tick habitat, such as wooded areas, shrubs, tall grass, or leaf piles.”
The ticks, which feed on and are transported by migratory birds and animals, transmit the illness — attributable to the micro organism B. burgdoferi — via their chunk. Early signs of Lyme illness can embrace fever, headache, muscle or joint ache, fatigue and a bull’s-eye rash. If caught early it may be successfully handled with antibiotics, and anybody with signs ought to seek the advice of their healthcare supplier.
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The prospect of encountering a black-legged tick in Gray-Bruce has elevated through the years, together with the variety of Lyme illness circumstances in Ontario, the discharge mentioned.
In 2021 there have been 1,455 circumstances of Lyme illness throughout Ontario, a charge of 9.6 circumstances per 100,000 individuals.
The Ontario Lyme Illness Map assists well being items as they conduct Lyme illness case investigations and offers major care suppliers info when contemplating potential exposures to black-legged tick bites, the discharge mentioned.
There may be post-exposure prophylaxis obtainable to forestall Lyme illness for individuals who have been bitten. Public well being follows up with all residents identified with Lyme illness, the discharge mentioned.
To forestall Lyme illness by avoiding tick bites, the well being unit recommends: utilizing bug repellent containing DEET or Icaridin; carrying light-coloured clothes; tucking your shirt into pants, pants into socks and carrying closed-toe sneakers; strolling on clear paths; utilizing a sticky roll brush to take away ticks from clothes earlier than stepping into the automobile; showering or bathing shortly after being outside; and checking your full physique, youngsters, gear and pets for ticks.
Those that are bitten by a tick ought to take away it instantly as most often contaminated ticks should be hooked up to an individual for at the very least 24 hours to cross on the micro organism.
Particulars on easy methods to take away a tick may be discovered at www.canada.ca/en/public-health/companies/illnesses/lyme-disease/removing-submitting-ticks-testing.html#a4
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