By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Take precautions when outdoors says AHS – tick season is well underway

May 23, 2018 | 11:04 AM

LETHBRIDGE – The good news is that even though it’s tick season in Alberta, no one has been infected with Lyme Disease from a tick in this province, and there is no ‘established’ population here, yet.

The bad news is that the nasty, tiny bloodsuckers that can bury themselves into you, your family or your pets in the most awkward of places, still can carry other diseases, according to AHS’s Dr. Vivian Suttorp.

“They can be quite complicated…Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is another example of disease carried through ticks. We don’t see theses diseases very often, and most are not established in Alberta.”

Symptoms of diseases that ticks can carry include flu-like reactions, which can begin anywhere from 1 to 3 days after a bite, according to https://myhealth.alberta.ca/ Sometimes a rash or a sore may also appear.

Most of the time though, all that is needed is to carefully remove the tick as soon as you find it and wash the area that’s been bitten with soap and water.

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According to AHS’s tick voluntary surveillance and submission program, between 2013 and 2016, there were 2781 ticks tested.

In 2016, 35 black, black-legged ticks tested positive for the B. burgdorferi bacterium, which causes Lyme disease.

147 yellow, black-legged ticks tested negative for the B. burgdorferi bacterium, there were 1499 red ticks submitted and 1100 blue ticks were also submitted that were found outside of the province.

Based on the number of submissions, AHS believes that the Lyme disease carrying black-legged ticks which exist here, are not reproducing quickly in this province and make-up a tiny proportion of overall populations.

Since 1991, there have been about 100 people in Alberta who have contracted Lyme disease from bites, but Suttorp says none of them occurred in this province.

She adds that there is a standard for reporting and testing and advises against going to some U.S. labs that don’t use recognized standards or practices.

“The public health agency of Canada and the U.S. Centre for Disease Control have developed standards for how to test humans for Lyme disease. And Alberta follows these recommendations. There are however, some private labs where you can send in bloodwork that are not necessarily accredited and do not follow these standards, who may diagnose someone with Lyme disease, but it’s not accredited testing.”

According to AHS, A study completed in 2014 at one alternate U.S. laboratory, of patients who did not have Lyme disease, incorrectly “found” Lyme disease in up to 57% of healthy people.

False positives can lead to a misdiagnosis and can potentially lead to harmful long-term antibiotic therapy.

Suttorp also has advice to those who want to spend time outdoors, and it’s just about the same as trying to prevent mosquito bites.

“Cover up as much skin as you can when you’re going into wooded areas or grassy areas. The second thing is to ensure you use bug spray that contains DEET or Icaridin.”

And finally, after you, your family or pets have been outside, check yourselves for ticks.

If you find one, after removing it, you can submit it to the province’s tick surveillance system for identification and testing at any Alberta Health Services Environmental Health Office.

Officials ask that you call and make an appointment first, before dropping off the tick.

They can also be submitted to any veterinarian, physician or First Nations health centre.

For more information, go to http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-info/lyme-disease.html.