Mayor Murray Scott has proclaimed May as Lyme Disease Awareness Month within the Municipality of Cumberland.
The mayor signed the proclamation on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to help raise awareness about Lyme disease within the municipality and to help make people more tick aware.
“Lyme disease is a serious illness that affects people in Cumberland County and across Nova Scotia,” the mayor said. “Prevention is the key to fighting the disease.”
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by a bite from an infected blacklegged tick. In Nova Scotia, only the blacklegged tick carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and not all blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria.
The ticks attach to the skin and feed on blood.
Blacklegged ticks are found throughout Nova Scotia, and all areas of the province are considered to have a risk of Lyme disease. Ticks thrive in areas with a moist habitat, such as wooded or forested areas, urban parks, and gardens.
Adult blacklegged ticks remain active until the temperature consistently drops below 4 C.
Cumberland County is considered a higher-risk area.
The 2022 Notifiable Diseases in Nova Scotia Surveillance Report indicates there were 310 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the province that year, compared to 445 in 2020 and 594 in 2021. The pointed out the confirmed case rate in Nova Scotia in 2022 was four times higher than the Canadian rate.
Donna Lugar, who founded the Nova Scotia Lyme Support Group and is a member of the Nova Scotia Lyme Advocacy Group, said proclamations such as the Municipality of Cumberland’s go a long way toward increasing awareness of Lyme disease.
Lugar said it’s important to be tick aware because the number of ticks is increasing and they’re increasingly becoming active year-round. Plus, they can also be carrying more than Lyme disease.
“With limited knowledge of what the ticks could be carrying and all the symptoms, the prevention aspect is super important,” she said. “You want to prevent that bite.”
Lugar said the medical community is becoming more aware of Lyme disease and a diagnosis, although improved, still has a long way to go.
She said the province is becoming more proactive by posting tick aware signage in all its park and she’s hopeful of the day when all municipalities in Nova Scotia follow suit.
“Personally, I don’t believe there’s enough in your face awareness. There’s a lack of signage and frequent social media posts – things that make people say, ‘yeah, I have to do that,’” said Lugas, who was diagnosed with a tick-borne illness in 2011. “And it’s becoming a year-round issue.”
There are some steps people can take to be tick aware.
To avoid blacklegged ticks, use insect repellant with DEET or Icaridin, cover as much of your skin as possible whenever in areas where ticks are found, wear light-coloured clothing and walk along well-travelled paths, avoiding longer grass and vegetation.
When you return from outdoor activities, check your entire body, especially: head and hair, in and around the ears, under the arms, around the chest, back (use a mirror or ask for help), waist, belly button, around the groin, legs and behind the knees and between the toes. Also, don’t forget to check your pets.
“We must accept the fact ticks are not going anywhere, so we have to learn to live with them, rather than fear them, as getting outside is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s important to make preventative measurers part of your regular routine, just as you would sun screen,” Mayor Scott said.