New risk area in Chatham-Kent for blacklegged ticks; new online reporting launched

Chatham-Kent has a new risk area for blacklegged ticks that can carry Lyme disease.

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A new risk area is centralized in a wooded lot northeast of Thamesville, Chatham-Kent Public Board of Health reported at a meeting Monday. The area was identified following tick surveillance activities conducted by staff in the spring and fall of 2023, in alignment with Public Health Ontario’s criteria, stated an information report on vector-borne disease program updates.

Public health inspector Kurt Clemens said the health unit is trying to drag for ticks in places it wouldn’t think of if not receiving reports of ticks in these areas.

He said the new risk area was identified in Chatham-Kent because someone’s dog had Lyme disease and the person only walked the dog in a certain area.

“We like when people bring in blacklegged ticks from areas other than Rondeau (Provincial) Park,” Clemens said.

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Cara Robinson, program manager of healthy environments, said residents are aware of the tick services the health unit provides.

“We actually have a lot of people bring ticks in to us for identification on a regular basis,” she said.

Acting medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said about 100 ticks were brought into the health unit for identification in the last year.

“That’s not a service provided in every health unit, but I’m proud that we provide that in Chatham-Kent,” he said.

West Kent councilor and health board member Melissa Harrigan said she and others are “anecdotally noticing” that this is a bad year for ticks in Chatham-Kent. She noted pulling ticks off her family members and pet after going on walks.

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“Certainly with warming temperature trend and climate change, we’re seeing more and more tick activity, I’ll say,” Robinson said.

She points to mild winters, including this past one.

“What that means is ticks remain active through the winter and then they get more and more active earlier in the spring,” Robinson said.

Nesathurai said ticks have expanded throughout Southwestern and Eastern Ontario in the last five years as temperatures have become warmer.

“I think it’s indisputable that the habitat for the black-legged tick has become more hospitable in Ontario,” Nesathurai said.

“The health of the community is closely related to the status of the natural, physical environment,” he said. “The habitat for the black-legged tick has expanded and so now in Chatham-Kent and throughout Ontario we face a new health challenge.”

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Lyme disease isn’t the only health threat associated with blacklegged ticks.

Nesathurai said Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis, passed from ticks, can cause flu-like symptoms including fever, chills and people feeling muscle ache and fatigue.

“On occasion, both of those diseases can be lethal,” he added.

The blacklegged tick can also transmit the Powassan virus, first identified in the town of Powassan near North Bay in 1958, which causes encephalitis, swelling of the brain, said Nesathurai.

He said there has been a change in public health practice that these are now reportable diseases in the province of Ontario.

However, Clemens said, “The majority of ticks we see are the American dog tick that don’t transmit Lyme disease and aren’t vectors for any of the diseases of significance in Ontario.”

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The health unit provides updates on its mosquito and tick surveillance programs at www.ckphu.com/health-topics/thesafeoutdoors.

“These mosquito and tick surveillance programs are proactive public health measures that help to enhance community safety,” said Nesathurai. “By enhancing surveillance efforts and providing transparent reporting, CK Public Health aims to empower residents with the information they need to reduce the risk of vector-borne illnesses.”

The doctor said staying indoors and avoiding all risks “is not the right strategy.”

Nesathurai said public health encourages people to “enjoy the great outdoors, but also take reasonable precautions to prevent illness.”

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