Tick Talk: Public Health Wants You to be Lyme Disease Aware

Written by admin, July 25, 2014

July 25, 2014 – The Peterborough Public Health has launched a summer promotional campaign to raise awareness about Lyme disease and how to prevent it.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious illness and growing health threat across Ontario.  It is the most common disease spread by ticks in Canada, caused by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. While not all blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, populations of infected blacklegged ticks are spreading due to climate change. This means the risk of contracting Lyme disease is on the rise across Canada.

“Locally we are closely monitoring for evidence of infected ticks in our area, so we encourage residents to check for ticks on their bodies and bring them to Public Health for identification,” explained Dylan Mahoney, Vector Borne Disease Prevention Program.  “Ticks can be as small as a sesame seed and their bites are usually painless, so it’s important to be on the lookout for ticks and the symptoms of Lyme disease.”

Mr. Mahoney explained that if you do locate a tick on your body, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull the tick straight out.  Save the tick in an empty screw-top bottle or zipper-closed bag and take it to Peterborough Public Health located at 185 King Street.  The tick will then be sent away to the Ontario Public Health Laboratory for identification.

Lyme is gaining the attention of health officials because of an increase in Lyme disease cases acquired within Ontario.  Public Health Ontario reported 317 human cases of Lyme disease last year in Ontario with the majority of cases occurring during the summer months.

To help build public awareness about Lyme disease, Public Health has developed bus advertisements, radio ads, social media messages and online communications tools.  These materials describe how Lyme disease is spread and what precautions one can take to avoid becoming infected.  For details on precautions, and what the symptoms of Lyme disease are, please visit “Ticks and Lyme Disease”.

What to do if you find a tick:

When bringing a tick to Public Health, please be aware that only ticks found on humans will be submitted for identification and testing.  Any ticks found on pets or other animals should be taken to a veterinarian. Once a tick has been removed from a person’s body, we ask that you place the tick in sealed container or Ziploc bag and bring into the health unit as soon as you can.

When submitting a tick you will need to provide the following information:

  • full name (including middle initial) and date of birth of the person to whom the tick was attached;
  • location on the body where the tick was found;
  • approximate length of time the tick was attached;
  • where the tick was acquired, along with recent travel history;
  • record of any symptoms; and
  • Health care provider’s name and city of practice.

A tick can be submitted to the health unit Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information on tick submission or general inquires about ticks please contact the Vector Borne Disease Program at the Public Health at 705-743-1000.

For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence
Communications Supervisor
705-743-1000, ext. 391


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