Kingston, Ont. is a hotspot for Lyme disease
Kingston, Ont. is a major hotspot for Lyme disease, with new figures showing it ranks among the highest in rates in the province.
Now, a study out of Queen’s University is looking to get a fuller picture into the disease.
Figures out of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health show that cases in the region are skyrocketing. There were 391 cases in 2021, compared to 17 cases back in 2013.
In 2021, there were 1,700 cases across Ontario, says KFL&A public health, and throughout the past few years the region has ranked among the highest rate of cases in the province.
The disease comes from the infected bite of a black-legged tick.
As you get outdoors with warmer weather, public health officials are warning to be sure to check for ticks and protect against Lyme disease.
- Walk on cleared paths or trails.
- Use tick repellents that contain DEET or Icaridin.
- Shower or bathe after coming inside to wash away loose ticks
- Do a daily full body tick check on yourself, your children, and your pets
- Talk to your vet about protecting your pets from ticks and tick-borne diseases.
Terrie Wainwright was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2017. She says the symptoms can cause constant fatigue and pain.
"Joints locking down, muscle spasms down the spine, everywhere," she explains. "You just don’t know what’s coming, and sometimes it can be a tidal wave, sometimes it’s not one symptom it can be many symptoms."
Ontario Public health says that early symptoms of Lyme include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and fatigue, as well as an expanding red rash.
Wainwright says, in her case, it took multiple doctors and specialists to find a diagnosis.
"(It’s) stressful as your health deteriorates and no one can explain what’s happening to you or why," she explains.
Now Wainwright is part of a study out of Queen’s University, hoping to better understand Lyme disease.
Madelaine Gravelle, a student researcher with MyLyme at Queen’s University, says the study asks patients about their individual circumstances and experiences.
"We’re trying to understand what Lyme is, how it presents differently in different people or across in different regions across Canada," Gravelle explains.
She says that includes both their physical and mental health, to get a better, broader picture.
"Something we don’t know is why Lyme can look so different in different people. There hasn’t been a lot of research into why and how that's happening," Gravelle explains. "Our team is made up of very diverse people from different backgrounds, we have neurologists, we have biologists…we have psychologists, we’re really trying to learn what it’s like to live with this disease."
To protect yourself, public health says to stay on clear paths, use tick repellent, and check for ticks on your family and pets.
Wainwright hopes her story, and more research, can help those like her.
"I’m not alone. And a lot of people are, and they’re suffering alone because this disease hasn’t been realized to it’s full extent," she explains.
In a statement, Dr. Gerald Evans, infectious disease expert with Queen’s University, says the rising number of cases across the province is that black-legged ticks continue to move more north.
“About 40 to 50 per cent of black-legged ticks or Ixodes ticks carry the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease,” he says. “For Canada, (the Kingston region) is really far south and adjacent to New York State that has large numbers of Lyme disease cases annually. And the nature of the rural areas is ideal for tick proliferation (deciduous forests and grasslands) and human encounters.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Parole board reverses decision and will allow families of Paul Bernardo's victims to attend upcoming parole hearing in person
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.
'They squandered 10 years of opportunity': Canada Post strike exposes longtime problems, expert says
Canada Post is at ‘death's door’ and won't survive if it doesn't dramatically transform its business, a professor who has studied the Crown corporation is warning as the postal workers' national strike drags on.