May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Whitby, Ontario - May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month and Durham Region Health Department is reminding everyone to take precautions against ticks when spending time outdoors.

Blacklegged ticks are prevalent in Durham, especially in forested and grassy areas. It’s important to take precautions to avoid tick bites, as some ticks may carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which can cause Lyme disease in humans and animals. Reports of tick bites and Lyme disease infections in Ontario have increased significantly over the past number of years. In 2022, the Health Department received reports of 59 confirmed human cases of Lyme disease.

“While not all blacklegged ticks are infected with Lyme disease, you can reduce risk by taking precautions when enjoying outdoor activities. This is especially important if you frequent brushy or forested areas where ticks are frequently found,” said Wendella Gobin, senior public health inspector with Durham Region Health Department.

The Health Department recommends:

• Wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, socks, and closed footwear.
• Tucking your pants into your socks and wearing light-coloured clothing, which makes ticks easier to spot.
• Using an insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin on your clothing and exposed skin.
• Taking a shower within one to two hours of being outdoors and examining your body thoroughly for ticks.
• Routinely checking pets for ticks; and consulting a veterinarian about long-term protection for pets.

If you do get bitten by a tick, remove it from your skin promptly to help prevent infection. Bacterial transmission usually happens after a tick is attached and feeding for at least 24 hours. Ticks should be removed carefully so that they remain intact, ensuring their mouth parts are not broken off below the skin surface. Pointed tweezers are an effective tool to help remove ticks.

Ticks become active when the snow melts in the early spring and remain active right up until the first heavy snowfall. If you find a tick on the ground, or one crawling on you that is not attached and feeding, visit etick.ca. This website accepts pictures of ticks and provides tick identification.

While it is possible to become infected by a tick at any time during tick season, many people become infected with Lyme disease in the spring and early summer through the bite of a nymph. Nymph stage ticks – which are the juvenile stage of blacklegged ticks – are as small as a poppy seed. Nymph bites are very difficult to detect.

If detected early, Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics. Early symptoms of Lyme disease can appear within a few days or up to a month after a bite from an infected tick. Symptoms may include fever or chills, headache, muscle or joint pain, fatigue, stiff neck, and swollen lymph nodes. In addition, 70 to 80 per cent of infected individuals experience an expanding red rash that often looks like a bull’s-eye target. If left untreated, Lyme disease can progress to a more serious, long-term illness involving the heart, joints and nervous system.

Anyone who develops symptoms after being bitten by a tick should see a health care provider as soon as possible. Lyme disease diagnosis is based on recognition of the clinical signs and symptoms, plus known exposure to a tick, or a history of living in or travelling to an area where ticks are likely to be found.

For the most up-to-date information about areas in Ontario where there is a frequent risk of Lyme disease, visit publichealthontario.ca. For more information on Lyme disease, please call Durham Health Connection Line at 905-668-2020 or 1-800-841-2729 or visit durham.ca/lyme.

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For more information, please contact the Health Department.