City deemed ‘risk area’ for Lyme disease

Hamilton and ticks — like two peas in a pod.

For the fifth consecutive year, Public Health Ontario has deemed the city an “estimated risk area” for Lyme disease amid increased sightings of the poppy-seed-sized insects. But health experts maintain the danger to the public is still low.

“Even though we’re an estimated risk area, our messaging is still that it’s a low risk to the public because there’s still not as many blacklegged ticks as dog ticks and not as many that carry the actual disease,” said Jane Murrell, supervisor of the city’s health hazards and vectorborne diseases program.

Black-legged ticks — those that can carry the Lyme disease bacteria — have made themselves a home in Hamilton in recent years, establishing an area where they can go through a life cycle as opposed to quick drop-off visits by way of transport animals and birds.

And the most recent data supports that. Of the 669 ticks submitted to public health in 2019, 223 were locally acquired black-legged ticks and 10 tested positive for Lyme disease. Of the 582 submitted in 2018, meanwhile, just 92 were black-legged and nine tested positive for the bacteria.

While Hamilton public health stopped recording identifiable tick data during the pandemic — an initiative that’s since restarted — Murrell

expects the number of ticks, including black-legged ones, to have kept increasing due to a warmer climate and shorter winters.

“Ticks are in the environment, they’re always going to be in the environment,” she said.

Lyme disease is of risk to humans only if a tick is black-legged, carries the disease’s bacteria and feeds on a person for at least 24 hours. The good news is not all black-legged ticks carry the bacteria and they can die easily in sunny areas.

But you might spot them in places you wouldn’t expect, like home gardens and well-kept grass backyards, said Murrell, who stressed vigilance is key to dodging the tiny insects.

“If your property backs out to an open field, you might want to line that back of your property with mulch or gravel, because they don’t like that. Even in your own backyard with cut grass, you can still come into contact with a tick. Other tick tips include:

Wearing light-coloured clothing outdoors to more easily spot ticks.

Wearing long pants and a longsleeved shirt to reduce skin exposure in wooded areas.

Using a tick repellent that contains DEET or icaridin. Do not use these products on your pets.

Using tweezers to remove ticks if size permits.

Showering or bathing within two hours of being outdoors to wash away loose ticks.

‘‘ Ticks are in the environment, they’re always going to be in the environment.

JANE MURRELL CITY OF HAMILTON