Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press Posted on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 5:54 AM EDT
The prevalence of ticks that can carry Lyme disease is expected to be higher than ever in much of Canada this year, the researchers say.
Vett Lloyd, a researcher and director of the Lloyd Tick Lab at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, says that as the impacts of climate change progress, each tick season is likely to be worse than the last.
“As winters get softer and shorter, ticks survive better and have more time to feed and have a romance with ticks,” Lloyd said in a recent interview Friday. “Once a female tick finds a male and eats it, it can produce about 3,000 eggs. When that starts to happen, (the population) explodes very quickly.”
Nova Scotia has the highest proportion of ticks to people in Canada, Lloyd said, and is second only to Ontario in the total number of ticks reported. But insects can be found all over Canada.
People will notice ticks, perhaps on their pets or hair, after spending time outside near the long grass. They are active in late April through June, and then usually rest during the warmer months, Lloyd said. The presence of ticks reaches its peak in late September to November.
The small mistake is a concern because it spreads Lyme disease, which is harmful to humans and pets. Not all ticks carry Lyme disease bacteria, but black-legged deer ticks are more likely to become infected, Lloyd said.
Cases of tick-borne disease increased in Canada by 150% between 2020 and 2021, with nearly 2,900 cases reported to the federal government last year. The report notes that its number of Lyme cases may still be low, “because some cases are not detected or not reported.”
The most common sign of Lyme disease is an expanding rash that usually begins at the site of the tick bite. Other early symptoms include fever, chills, fatigue, and headache. If left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system.
Justin Wood, general manager of the Ontario-based tick testing organization, Geneticks, said tick activity continues to rise. “I think everyone will say they’re seeing more ticks every year,” Wood said in an interview Tuesday. The Geneticks lab has received more than 400 ticks to test in the past six weeks, he said. During the 2021 season, some 1,600 ticks were sent to the lab.
Lloyd agreed: “It’s a bad year for ticks,” he said.
Ticks can breed locally and new populations of ticks are introduced into migratory animals, usually by bird walks, Lloyd said. Ticks also travel and spread locally in mammals such as deer or mice.
The Veterinary Medical Association of Canada says on its website that ticks are expanding their reach in parts of Canada at a rate of about 46 miles per year.
In Ontario, a 2019 University of Ottawa study found that one-third of black-legged ticks in the Ottawa region carried Lyme disease.
Manisha Kulkarni, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa who studies ticks and tick-borne diseases, said in an interview that over the past five to 10 years, researchers have noticed “a great northward expansion” of ticks. black-legged ticks in Ottawa. region.
“Ticks are being detected in more and more places in the city of Ottawa and closer to the areas where people live, so there is also a greater chance that people will come in contact with them,” he said. Tuesday. The City of Ottawa reported 180 cases of Lyme disease in 2019, 120 in 2020 and 290 in 2021.
The northward expansion of ticks is also seen in Quebec. Associate Professor of Biology at McGill University Virginie Millien says the tick movement means they can now be found in suburban areas of the southern part of the province where they did not live even five years ago.
About 10 years ago, there were some places in Quebec where researchers would find established tick populations, he said, all on the south side of the St. Lawrence River.
“Now they’ve crossed the river, and the hotter it gets, the wetter … the conditions are perfect for the ticks,” Millien said Monday. “In southern Quebec, they’re now pretty much everywhere. Included in my backyard.”
In Nova Scotia, ticks can be anywhere, but are more populated in the South Shore and Annapolis Valley regions. They are also frequently found in and around Halifax. Researchers who collected and took samples of black-legged ticks found that in Nova Scotia, between 30% and 50% of them carried Lyme disease.
In order to keep Lyme disease manageable for Canadians who may be infected, Lloyd would like testing for Lyme disease to be provided to the health care system. Early detection and treatment can dramatically improve the outcome of the disease, he said.
Health officials also recommend that people be diligent when they spend time outdoors, which means wearing long pants tucked into socks, using insect repellent, and thoroughly checking ticks after returning home.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 1, 2022.
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This story was produced with the financial assistance of Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.