Lyme disease

Close-up of an adult female deer tick, dog tick, and a lone star tick. (Photo By Getty Images)

So the weather's ideal and you're raring to enjoy the great outdoors — but you're feeling fatigued, and you're suffering from chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint pain. Maybe swollen lymph nodes, too.

Can't figure out why you're coming down with conditions you'd expect to feel in the winter?

Could be you're in the early stages of Lyme disease — a condition that was unknown in Canada up until the 1980s. Initially, it was identified only at Long Point and Point Pelee, Ont. — which is the furthest south you can get in Canada.

In recent years, Lyme disease spread to much of Ontario, southern British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. In July 2007, officials said Alberta may be at risk after veterinarians in Edmonton found 10 specimens of the western blacklegged tick, two of which were carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The ticks — which are normally found in parts of B.C. and western American states — were removed from a couple of pet dogs. But by August, health officials said the species probably wasn't established in the province as no new ticks had been spotted. Migratory birds are suspected of carrying the ticks into the province, officials said.

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease was first identified in Lyme, Conn., in the mid-1970s. It's a serious illness caused by the bite of two species of ticks — blacklegged ticks (sometimes called deer ticks) and western blacklegged ticks.

How do ticks pass on the disease?

Blacklegged ticks live for about two years. They have three feeding stages: larvae, nymph and adult. When a young tick feeds on an infected animal, it picks up a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. It's normally carried by mice, squirrels, birds and other small animals.

The bacterium then lives in the gut of the tick. If you are the tick's next meal after it's ingested infected blood, you could show symptoms in three to 30 days.

Most cases are reported in late spring and summer, when the young ticks are most active and people are outdoors more often. Ticks often feed on deer but don't infect them very often. Deer are important to the tick population because they provide them with a lot of food — and a mode of transportation over long distances, which is important in maintaining the tick population.

Health Canada estimates that about 10 per cent of blacklegged ticks in any infected area carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

The first sign that you may be infected is a circular rash surrounding the spot where the tick bit you. It'll show up between three and 30 days after the tick helped itself to your blood. The rash may be followed by symptoms like fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.

If left untreated, the disease can progress to a second phase, which can last several months. Symptoms in the second phase include migraines, weakness, multiple skin rashes, painful or stiff joints, abnormal heartbeat and extreme fatigue.

Still not seeking treatment? Well, it's highly unlikely that you will die, but you may suffer symptoms such as chronic arthritis and neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, numbness and paralysis.

Is there a cure?

Lyme disease is generally easy to treat with antibiotics in its early stages. But if left too long, treatment may involve several rounds of antibiotics.

How do I protect myself?

Make yourself a difficult meal for a tick.

Nova Scotia zoologist Andrew Hebda notes that ticks aren't very active. They can't leap at you as you walk by. But if you brush up against them, they can latch on to you.

Hebda recommends that you stay on trails and avoid deep bush.

Health Canada offers several tips, including:

• If infected ticks are in your area, wear long-sleeved shirts that fit tightly around the wrist, and long-legged pants tucked into socks or boots. Light-coloured clothing makes it easier to see if there are any ticks on your clothes.
• Wear shoes that cover your entire foot — avoid sandals in areas where ticks might be.
• Use insect repellents that contain DEET to repel ticks. Repellents can be applied to clothing as well as exposed skin.

How easy is it spot a tick?

Adult ticks are about two- to five-millimetres long and are not too difficult to spot. But in their nymph form, they are the size of a poppy seed. At this stage, the nymph requires a blood meal to reach adulthood.

"Basically look for freckles that move," Hebda said.

What should I do if I find a tick?

If the tick is embedded in your skin, Hebda says, using tweezers, carefully remove it without detaching its mouth. It's virtually impossible to identify species of ticks without the mouth part. Health Canada labs will not analyze ticks if they are missing the mouth.

"If you can't remove it," Hebda says, "see your family physician."

Do ticks tend to seek out specific areas of the body?

Blacklegged ticks need about 48 hours for a proper feeding. Hebda says they tend to seek out more secluded parts of your body, like "behind the knees and points further north."

Hebda adds, despite the risk, there's absolutely no reason you should avoid the woods or stay away from trails.

"When you come in, just wipe yourself off and take a gander, see if there's anything moving."

What other steps can I take to minimize the risk?

There are several steps you can take to make sure your yard does not become a haven for ticks that might be able to infect you with Lyme disease.

• Keep grass on your property well cut to reduce the amount of habitat suitable for ticks.
• Remove leaves and brush around your house and at the edges of lawns.
• Create a barrier of wood chips between lawns and wooded areas to restrict the migration of ticks. Ticks love cool, damp areas. They hate hot, dry places.
• Check your pets regularly for ticks.
• Keep the ground around bird feeders clean.
• Stack wood neatly and in dry areas.
• Keep playground equipment, decks and patios away from the edge of your yard and away from trees.
• Discourage deer: if they come on your property, don't feed them. Construct barriers to prevent them from coming on to your property.