Tick population rising; Outdoor enthusiasts urged to be on lookout for disease-bearing bug
Ian Elliot
Local News - Wednesday, May 16, 2007 @ 00:00
People heading outside this summer are being warned that they may be sharing their summer recreation activities with ticks that can cause Lyme disease.
Long established in the eastern U.S. and western Canada, the black-legged tick is increasingly establishing a presence in this part of Ontario, with several thriving colonies in the Thousand Islands region.
There are fears that it is gradually expanding its habitat on the mainland.
"The tick is here," said Joan Mays, supervisor of health protection for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
"We just don't know how far north the tick has come yet."
Dr. Robin Lindsay, a biologist with the federal microbiology lab in Winnipeg, says ticks are starting to colonize this area and that regular tick checks after outdoor activity will become necessary.
"Unless you've got snow on the ground, you've got to be cognizant that they're out there," he said.
"People are just going to have to get used to it. It will add 10 minutes to your day [checking for them]."
With the assistance of local veterinarians, the Leeds-Grenville health unit is running a surveillance program in which ticks taken off pets are sent for analysis to see if they are carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The insects are analysed either in Toronto or at the federal government's biohazard lab in Winnipeg. Mays said already this year 70 ticks had been collected and sent for testing.
Last summer, researchers found large populations of black-legged ticks, the primary carrier of Lyme disease in North America, in the Thousand Islands on Thwartway, Grenadier and Hill islands.
One in 10 ticks tested on Thwartway Island carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease in humans and at least one Parks Canada employee contracted the disease last summer.
Smaller tick populations have been found on other islands and in areas such as Point Pelee, where migratory birds gather and bring the ticks with them.
Because we aren't used to worrying about them, the tick is of special concern for people in this area. Celine Shank of Perth says agencies such as Parks Canada should be doing more to inform people of the dangers.
Last year, she and her husband, Pat, docked at Endmyion and Cedar islands, where their dog was infected with ticks. Her husband was also bitten. The local health unit recommended he get a tetanus shot and antibiotics, but it wasn't until then that the couple understood that Lyme disease was a possible outcome.
She said warnings on the Parks Canada website are not prominent enough and that the agency should post signs on infected islands warning people of the danger so they can take precautions or not visit at all.
Parks Canada spokeswoman Sophie Borcoman said posters warning about the presence of ticks were posted on bulletin boards on islands last year, and will continue to be posted this year, and the presence of ticks is noted on the agency's website.
She noted the couple visited the islands in October, when they are not staffed, and said that may have been the reason they missed the warning.
She said Parks Canada is taking the issue very seriously. "We don't want people to have the idea that ticks are only confined to Parks Canada properties," she said.
Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority has not yet posted notices warning visitors about the possibility of tick bites, but spokesman Michael Sykes says they are watching the issue and have already issued an advisory to staff about how to avoid the ticks and remove them if they find them on their skin.
Lindsay said this area is actually a fertile ground for ticks, but they have to be lucky to start a colony: Males and females have to find each other so they can breed, and have to have animals that they can latch on to.
"If you think like a tick, which I often do, you have to bombard an area with a number of immature ticks over a number of years to establish a population," he said. He suggests global warming might be expanding the ticks' range from the northeastern U.S., where the local populations are believed to originate, and said there is no question they will continue to spread.
"Undoubtedly we're going to see them moving up the St. Lawrence as a result of their incursion here," he said.
Ticks lodge in the skin of animals and humans and feed on their host's blood.
A tick carrying Lyme disease bacteria must feed for at least 24 hours before infection is complete, but a tick can engorge itself on a host's blood for as long as five days.
A tick can be as small as a grain of pepper or as large as a sesame seed. They jump to humans and other animals by climbing a blade of grass and waiting for a source of food to pass by.
Dave Jensen of the provincial health ministry says the number of people with Lyme disease in the province climbed to 23 last year from 16 the year before, but a number of those cases involved Ontario residents who contracted the disease elsewhere.
The number of people who contract the disease here tends to stay within the range of five to 10 each year, but the ministry monitors regional health data that indicate if one area of the province is seeing a local uptick, so to speak.
"If we were to notice a significant increase in one area of the province, we would take steps to increase public awareness of the issue there," he said.
Tick facts
To lessen the chances of contracting a tick, people are advised to apply an insect spray containing DEET and to wear light coloured, long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into your socks when walking in areas of long grass or vegetation.
Light colours make the dark ticks easier to spot when someone returns inside.
If a tick is found, it can be removed with a pair of tweezers. The tick should be kept in a small container and the local health unit can be contacted to arrange for testing of the animal to see if it carries Lyme disease
If a person develops a red bulls-eye rash, fever, headache, muscle or joint pain, fatigue and a skin rash in the weeks after being bitten, a doctor should be contacted.
Without treatment, the disease can progress and cause meningitis, facial paralysis and other health problems.LoCAL News