There are many health benefits from being active and enjoying the outdoors; however, if you are in outdoor areas suitable for ticks, for example, wooded areas or areas with tall grasses, you need to be aware of the risk of Lyme disease. To help prevent Lyme disease, Ottawa Public Health monitors ticks and human illness trends and increases awareness of Ottawa residents of the risks posed by ticks and educates on how to prevent Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is an important health concern in many parts of Canada and is spread by the bite of blacklegged ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Most people are infected with Lyme disease through the bite of an immature tick called a nymph.
Nymphs are tiny (less than two mm, about the size of a poppy seed) and difficult to see. Nymphs feed during the spring and summer months. Adult ticks are much larger and are more likely to be discovered and removed before they have had time to transmit the bacteria. Adult blacklegged ticks are most active during spring and again in late summer and fall.
The blacklegged tick that carries the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease is present in the Ottawa area, across Eastern Ontario, and the Outaouais region of Quebec.
Ottawa Public Health has seen an increase in the number of cases of Lyme disease reported in the Ottawa area over time, as well as an increase in the number of cases of Lyme disease likely acquired in the Ottawa area. This is most likely a result of growing Lyme disease awareness and increase in tick populations in Eastern Ontario.
Ottawa Public Health is committed to reducing the health risks to residents posed by Lyme disease through prevention, education and awareness, as well as surveillance.
Preventing tick bites is key to the prevention of Lyme disease, you can do this by:
- Applying an approved insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin
- Doing a tick check on yourself, your children, and pets
- Checking your pet daily for ticks, especially if it spends time in wooded or overgrown areas
- Removing ticks as soon as possible. If you find a tick on your body, using fine-pointed tweezers, grasp the tick’s head as close to the skin as possible and pull slowly until the tick is removed. Do not twist or rotate the tick. Do not use a match, lotion or anything else on the tick.
Please see this site for a video and for more information on Lyme Disease https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/lyme-disease.aspx#What-is-Lyme-disease