Tick discovery prompts warning about Lyme disease

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Tick discovery prompts warning about Lyme disease

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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

 

The kind of tick that carries Lyme disease has been found in Alberta.

 

Now, the province has launched a new surveillance program to assess the

risk of Lyme disease in people and animals.

 

Alarm bells went off this spring, when Lyme-carrying ticks were found in

ten dogs around Edmonton.

 

**Out of those 10 ticks, 2 of them were positive for the bacteria,** says

Hernan Ortegon, a spokesman for the province's chief veterinarian..

 

The tick is called Ixodes Pacifica. It*s been found in Alberta before in

migratory birds, but never before in such great numbers.

 

*What we want to know is if this tick is a resident, has it become

established? That*s the first question we need to answer,** says Ortegon.

 

Veterinarians across the province are now part of a provincial tick

surveillance program. They're need to report and submit ticks to a provincial

lab

for testing.

 

** It*s gone from being a nuisance, to being a potential source of disease

for pets and people,** says Dr. Scott Kelman of Bow Bottom Veterinary

Clinic.

 

The first sign of infection is often an itchy circular rash which begins

at the site of the tick bite, followed by flu like symptoms, which can turn

into a chronic illness.

 

** My left side went numb, a headache so severe all I could do was lay on

the couch. And a stiff neck... it's a nasty, chronic illness for me,**

says Sonya Sonnenberg, a Lyme disease patient in Pincher Creek.

 

Sonnenberg is a Parks Canada employee who contracted the disease in 2001

while working at Waterton Lakes National Park.

 

She says ticks are already in B.C, Manitoba and Montana. It*s no surprise

they've been found here.

 

**The best thing they can do is launch an awareness campaign and warn

people these ticks are out there. Whether it*s BC, Manitoba or Alberta, we're

all part of the same ecosystem,** she adds.

 

 

The province is warning Albertans to protect themselves against Lyme

disease by wearing long pants in wooded areas, using a repellent containing

DEET

and wearing light clothing so they can spot and remove ticks promptly.

 

 

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