Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

Insect and Animal-Related Diseases

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by a Blacklegged tick. The insect can only transmit the bacteria after it has been attached to the skin (feeding on blood) for at least 24 hours. The disease can be prevented by avoiding Blacklegged tick bites, and it is treatable with antibiotics.

To date, Blacklegged ticks have been found in three areas of the province:

• Areas of Lunenburg County (Blue Rocks, Garden Lots, Heckmans Island and 1^st Peninisula as well as the area immediately surrounding them)
• Admiral's Cove area in Bedford
• Gunning Cove in Shelburne County.

The bacteria that can cause Lyme disease has been found in all 3 areas.

To date, since 2002, there have been 35 confirmed or possible cases of Lyme disease reported in Nova Scotia . Of these, 25 acquired the infection in the province, 6 acquired the infection outside of the province and 4 were unknown.

Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection recommends protecting yourself and your family from Lyme disease by following the advice outlined in our brochure.

We hope you find the following information – and photos – helpful:

• Lyme Disease / Tick Brochure
  Maladie de Lyme : Protégez-vous contre les piqûres de tiques
• Poster: Protect Yourself from Tick Bites
  Maladie de Lyme (affiche)
• Photos

For additional information on Lyme disease, check out the following links:

• Public Health Agency of Canada
  http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/lyme-eng.php
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( USA )
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/Lyme/

In addition to the information provided in our brochure , for more information on reducing the number of ticks around your home through landscaping techniques, these pages on Landscape Management have been reproduced with permission from the Tick Management Handbook: An integrated guide for homeowners, pest control operators, and public health officials for the prevention of tick-associated disease (revised edition, Fall 2007) by Kirby C. Stafford III, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Please note that this is an American document and not all of the information is applicable to Nova Scotia.

 

Another disease carried by Blacklegged ticks is Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis (HGA) which has been found infrequently in Blacklegged ticks in NS. However, to date no human infections have been reported in this province. For more information on HGA please see the following link:

www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/anaplasmosis/index.html