Never mind the black flies, it is tick season

Jeff Green | May 13, 2020

One of the best ways to get out of doors in a social distancing way in rural areas is to take a walk in the woods or on a back-country trail. But even as the cold weather has lingered into May, to be replace with warmer weather this weekend we hope, the prevalence of ticks, including deer ticks, bring a significant risk of Lyme Diseases.

Lyme Disease came to Canada from the United States. It was first identified in the town of Lyme, Connecticut in the mid 1980’s. Until quite recently it was thought that the deer ticks that carry Lyme were not prevalent in Canada, however “Blacklegged ticks are spreading to new areas of the province because of climate change,” according to the government of Ontario.”

Not all ticks are blacklegged (deer) ticks, and not all deer ticks carry Lyme Disease. Adult female deer ticks require a blood meal to reproduce, which is why they attack mammals, including deer, cats and dogs, and humans. Cats are though to be immune to Lyme disease, but they can carry ticks. Dogs are susceptible to Lyme, but there is a Lyme vaccine for dogs.

Ticks prefer relatively cool weather and do not like direct sunlight. They can congregate in the border areas between walk ways and brush. The best way to avoid tick bites is to remain covered when walking in fields of in the woods by wearing long sleeved shirts, tucking socks into pants, etc. Light coloured clothing is recommended and the use of Deet based insect repellents has been shown to be an effective repellent

According to Public Health, Ontario, a full body scan for ticks after a walk or a gardening session is recommended, as is showering and running clothes through a hot dryer cycle. Ticks will crawl on exposed skin and eventually bite the skin and burrow in to get the blood meal they are looking for. This takes time. Ticks that are removed within 24 hours are not likely to transmit Lyme disease. They must be removed carefully, however, with a tweezers or a tick key, to avoid crushing the tick and leaving the legs embedded beneath the skin. The area should be cleaned with soap and/or hand sanitizer after the tick is removed.

If Lyme disease has been contracted symptoms often occur within 1 to 2 weeks, but they can occur in as little as 3 days or as late as 30 days after infection.

One of the potential symptoms of Lyme’s is a bulls eye rash that can expand slowly over days. Other symptoms include: fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, headache, neck stiffness and swollen lymph nodes, or facial paralysis, . These symptoms can occur with or without the bull’s eye rash.

Public Health Ontario recommends seeking medical care if any of the above mentioned symptoms occur within 30 days of a tick bite.

Left untreated, Lyme’s can result in long term health conditions including severe joint pain and swelling and neurological disorders. These conditions are difficult to treat.

The recommended treatment for Lyme’s is a course of antibiotics, and the earlier it is treated the better the outcome.

Concerns have been raised about how the medical system has handled Lyme’s patients in Eastern Ontario, which is listed as endemic region for Lyme’s by the Province of Ontario.

In the following excerpt,  Queen’s Master’s student Emilie Norris-Roozmon describes the context for a survey that she has initiated for her thesis and the research efforts of her supervisors Dr’s Colautti and Egan, who are involved in the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network.

Pursuing Tick Bite Symptoms Amid COVID-19 Pandemic 

Amidst social distancing restrictions and declining rates of COVID-19 infection, many Ontario residents are eager to get outside and re-connect with nature. However, May is also Lyme Disease Awareness month, and spring’s onset is expected to cause hundreds of new Lyme disease cases in this province. Researchers at Queen’s University have launched a new collaboration between citizens and scientists to eliminate misdiagnosis of Tick-Borne Disease in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Outdoor activities pose a risk of infection from ticks carrying viruses and bacteria. In response to this growing threat, researchers at Queen’s University are asking citizens for new insight. Masters student Emilie Norris-Roozmon is promoting a new anonymous online survey for anyone who has been bitten by a tick - Click here. In collaboration with her supervisors Dr. Robert Colautti and Dr. Rylan Egan, her thesis research will use public surveys to track patterns in reported symptoms that are associated with tick bites. 

“Whether symptoms are severe or mild to non-existent,” explains Norris-Roozmon “we think this kind of data is valuable and underutilized in the study of tick-borne infections.”  

The survey evaluates the “client-centred care” that patients receive, and their resulting symptoms. The survey emerged from the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CLyDRN) and is part of an integrated research program on tick-borne diseases funded by Canada’s Federal Tri-Agency. 

In addition to Lyme, many diseases can be simultaneously transmitted by ticks in eastern Ontario, including Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, and Powassan disease. Infectious diseases like Lyme disease and COVID-19 have caught health care institutions off-guard, with significant financial and human health impacts. Norris-Roozmon and her colleagues are hopeful that their integrated approach will help to improve diagnosis of tick-borne disease in Ontario. 

Quotes  

“I have had 23 different diagnoses from at least 15 different doctors, suffice it to say that believe my immune system was compromised by undiagnosed and untreated Lyme, Babesia and Bartonella infections.” – Diane Quigley, Administrator of the Lyme Kingston Group and Lyme Group Guide 

“After being sick all semester and seeing 7 doctors I was finally diagnosed with Lyme.” – Abby Duncan, Queen’s University student 

“There seems to be a growing disconnect between some patients and the diagnoses they receive. That alone is not evidence that we are missing something important, but I think it’s worth trying to quantify.” – Dr. Robert Colautti, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Rapid Evolution at Queen’s University 

Click for Survey