Or...Search This Site
Home
Symptoms
Live Discussion
Diagnosis
Treatment
World-wide Support Finder
Library
Research
Lymelinks
Contact
Pets & Lyme
DONATIONS
Drug Info
Medical Dictionary
Board of Directors
Click on the graphic to vote for this site as a
Starting Point
Hot Site.
-
-
No Warranties or Representations
The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website.
Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect.
en français
For Physicians
Ticks
Coinfections
Prevention
Our Stories
Click Here to order our
free Lyme Disease Flyer
,
Here for our
free Lyme Disease Poster
..documents may be copied (to distribute)
but edit only for alignment.
From the
Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper August 17th, 2006
Disease-carrying tick 'abundant' on island
Brock Harrison
Local News - Thursday, August 17, 2006 @ 07:00
Tests should be done along Kingston's shoreline to determine if disease-carrying ticks have established themselves here, urges a scientist who confirmed colonies were sprouting up in the Thousand Islands.
Parks Canada said yesterday that black-legged ticks, the primary carrier of Lyme disease in North America, have established a presence on Thwartway Island, a 37-hectare island on the St. Lawrence River close to the U.S. border.
Research scientist Robbin Lindsay was brought in from Winnipeg to conduct the tests on the island.
"I didn't think they'd be nearly as abundant as they are," Lindsay said, adding his test results should prompt large-scale testing along the shores of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, as far west as Trenton.
Researchers from Canada's public health unit were brought to Thwartway and two other islands earlier this month for testing after several St. Lawrence Islands National Park employees found ticks on their bodies.
Testing confirmed the ticks have established a population on Thwartway. Hill and Grenadier Islands, the two other islands tested, showed much smaller tick populations.
Thwartway Island is a small island south of Gananoque with no campsites or residences. It is a popular rest spot for Thousand Islands boaters because of its sandy beach.
One in 10 ticks tested on Thwartway carried the B. burgdorferi bacteria that causes Lyme disease in humans. Ticks that carry the bacteria acquire it from feeding on the blood of infected rodents.. Lindsay says the one in 10 rate of carrier ticks is about average, but says he was "shocked" by the sheer volume of ticks on the island.
Because the ticks are so abundant on the one island, Lindsay says its likely that ticks have established themselves at various locations in St. Lawrence Islands National Park and the Thousand Islands area.
"There's a possibility that there are established populations in the Kingston area as we speak," Lindsay said.
The missing piece of information, which Lindsay says will become available once his test results are completed, is whether the indigenous rodents on the island carry the bacteria.
"This problem is not going to go away. Ticks are there, they are infected, and the rodents are involved," he said.
Once the ticks have established themselves, Lindsay says not much can be done to stop their spread.
They are about the size of ground pepper and move primarily by hitching rides with migratory birds. They also attach themselves to dogs and other family pets.
"This is probably something the region will need to learn to live with," said Frances Rennie, acting resource conservation manager for Parks Canada.
Eight cases of the disease have been reported in New York's Jefferson County, located directly south of Thwartway Island, in the last three months.
Public health officials there have issued a warning about an outbreak, though local health units haven't begun sounding warning bells quite yet.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District health unit has yet to issue any advisories and the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington unit says Kingston is in the clear.
"The Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington area is not considered an infected area," read a statement on the health unit's website.
Ticks spend most of their time in dark and low-lying areas but climb to the tips of tall grass and small bushes when looking to feed.
They latch onto mammals that pass by and embed themselves into the skin where they feed on their host's blood for up to five days.
A tick carrying the Lyme disease bacteria needs to feed for at least 24 hours straight before the transmission of the bacteria is complete.
For that reason, combined with the one in 10 rate of infected ticks, Rennie says the risk of contracting the disease right now is quite low.
"If you stick to paths and you wear long pants and shoes and spray yourself with DEET, you should be OK," she said. "If you know you've been in an area where they are, you should check your body carefully."
Only 310 cases of Lyme disease have been reported in Canada since 1995, but because many of its symptoms are synonymous with other conditions, many cases go undiagnosed.
While it is a reportable disease in Ontario, not all provinces require all cases to be reported. Local numbers for the disease were not available from the public health unit yesterday.
The disease presents itself in a wide variety of ways. Initial symptoms may include a rash, flu-like symptoms, fatigue, headaches, sore throat and heart palpitations.
Early detection and swift antibiotic treatment usually eliminate symptoms, but delayed treatment or a misdiagnosis could lead to a chronic illness that is disabling and difficult to treat.
Meningitis, Bell's palsy and short-term memory loss have been known to occur in late-treated or misdiagnosed cases.
bharrison@thewhig.com
TOP