Lyme disease has come early in London this year. In a news release the MLHU says it has diagnosed its first Lyme Disease case of the season.
“This case is significant, in part, because it was diagnosed much earlier in the year than we typically see Lyme Disease cases,” says Dr. Joanne Kearon, Associate Medical Officer of Health for the health agency. “With warming climates, ticks survive the winter. We’re therefore seeing ticks earlier, tick bites earlier, unfortunately Lyme Disease earlier than ever.”
Early signs of Lyme Disease include a bull’s eye rash, headache, fever or chills, fatigue and muscle and joint pain.
In 2023 there was approximately 2500 cases of Lyme disease, around the same amount as 2022.
Experts suggest wearing long sleeve shirts with long pants, using bug repellant with DEET or Icaridin, and to do tick checks when leaving areas that may contain ticks.
“If you find a tick on a person’s body, remove it as soon as possible. Ticks need to be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease. Ticks removed from your body can be submitted to our team or to etick.ca for identification. I encourage everyone who spends time outdoors to learn how to identify and remove a tick from your body by visiting our website.”
