Lyme disease cases up in Thunder Bay, but what about here?

This past week the Thunder Bay Newswatch reports that the Thunder Bay District of Health Unit has found 63 percent of black-legged ticks—also known as deer ticks— carry the Lyme disease bacteria.

In past years the TBDHU found only about ten percent of ticks tested positive.

Just how many ticks the TBDHU workers found wasn’t revealed in the study.

The bite of an infected tick causes Lyme disease.

According to the Mayo Clinic, early signs and warnings of Lyme disease include noticing a “small, red bump, like the bump of a mosquito bite, often appearing at the site of the tick bite or tick removal over a few days.” However, this regular occurrence doesn’t always indicate Lyme disease.

Instead, three to 30 days after an infected bite, a rash with a bull’s eye area might appear. The rash may slowly grow and spread to 12 inches, and some people develop more than one rash.

Other symptoms include fever, chills, fatigue, body ache, headache, neck stiffness, and swollen lymph nodes.

Left untreated longterm, you may experience bouts of severe joint pain, inflammation of the membrane surrounding your brain (meningitis), temporary paralysis on one side of your face (Bell’s palsy), numbness, or weakness in your limbs. People have also developed Irregular heartbeats, impaired muscle movement, arthritis, and problems with their nervous symptoms.

While ticks easily attach to the skin, if they are removed within the first two days, the chance of getting Lyme disease is low.

In Minnesota, cases of Lyme disease have been on the rise. Over the last five years, the state has averaged more than 1,200 cases per year, up from less than 300 twenty years ago.

During the spring and fall, deer ticks are most active. After returning from a hike through the woods or on trails, be sure to shower and examine yourself for ticks. Also, wash and tumble dry your clothes to kill any ticks that are hiding in them.

When you are outside in the woods or on a trail, wear long-sleeved shirts, a hat, gloves, and tuck your long pants into your socks to avoid tick bites. Insect repellant that contains DEET is also used to prevent ticks from picking you out to lunch on.

If you get a tick, gently remove it with tweezers and apply antiseptic to the bite or wash the bite area with soap and water.

Caught early enough, Lyme Disease can be treated with a 14–21-day course of antibiotics.

The peak season for ticks is October. If you spot a reddish-brown tick on you, that’s a deer tick and you should remove it and watch for potential symptoms of Lyme disease.