Might is Nationwide Lyme Illness Consciousness Month and well being officers need you to take precautions towards tick bites.

Durham Area Well being Division say blacklegged ticks are discovered all through the area, particularly in forested, grassy or brushy areas.

Some blacklegged ticks carry the micro organism Borrelia burgdorferi which may trigger Lyme illness in people and pets.

Reviews of tick bites and Lyme illness infections in residents have elevated considerably over the previous variety of years, because the blacklegged tick inhabitants has expanded all through southern Ontario.

In 2021, the Well being Division obtained reviews of 103 confirmed human instances of Lyme illness in comparison with 24 instances in 2016.

“Detecting and eradicating ticks from the pores and skin promptly will assist to stop an infection as transmission of the Lyme disease-causing micro organism often requires a tick to be connected to the pores and skin and feeding for not less than 24 hours,” defined Laura Freeland, Supervisor, Well being Safety with the Well being Division. “Ticks needs to be eliminated rigorously in order that they continue to be intact, and their mouth components usually are not damaged off under the pores and skin floor. Pointed tweezers are an efficient device to assist in eradicating ticks.”

Lyme illness is preventable.

If detected early, it may be handled efficiently with antibiotics.

Early signs of Lyme illness can seem inside just a few days or as much as a month after a chunk from an contaminated tick.

Signs could embody fever or chills, headache, muscle or joint ache, fatigue, stiff neck, and swollen lymph nodes.

Additionally, 70 to 80 per cent of contaminated people expertise an increasing purple rash that always appears like a bull’s-eye goal.

If left untreated, Lyme illness can progress to a extra critical, long-term sickness involving the guts, joints and nervous system.

Anybody who develops signs after being bitten by a tick ought to see a well being care supplier as quickly as potential.

For those who discover a tick on the bottom or one crawling on you that isn’t connected and feeding and also you want to know if it’s a blacklegged tick, click on here.

Though the chance of turning into contaminated with Lyme illness and different tick-borne infections continues to be comparatively low, you may scale back the chance by taking precautions when having fun with outside actions.

That is particularly vital if you happen to frequent brushy or forested areas the place ticks are most discovered. Precautions embody:

• Sporting lengthy pants, a long-sleeved shirt, socks, and closed footwear.

• Tucking your pants into your socks and carrying light-coloured clothes, which makes ticks simpler to identify.

• Utilizing an insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin in your clothes and uncovered pores and skin.

• Having a shower inside one to 2 hours of being outside and inspecting your physique totally for ticks whereas showering.

• Routinely checking pets for ticks and consulting a veterinarian concerning long-term safety for pets.

For extra info on Lyme illness, click on here.