OUTDOORS Beware TIM BEZANSON
The Bull’s Eye In the mid-1970’s a small town located in bucolic southern Connecticut
began experiencing a mysterious outbreak of what appeared to be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children. It turned out to be caused by a specific tick- born disease that ended up being named after that town, Old Lyme. Lyme disease is carried by the blacklegged tick, commonly known as
the deer tick that thrives in moist woodland and tall grass settings and is especially active in the spring and summer months only becoming dormant in the extreme cold of winter. While there are many common tick varieties, only the deer tick carries the bacterium “Borrelia burgdorferi” that causes Lyme. Since first being identified over forty years ago, Lyme has spread far and
wide including into Canada where in Ontario it’s now widely distributed. Spread by animals and migratory birds, areas that were formerly Lyme-free can suddenly find themselves infested. It’s not surprising that “hot zones” for Lyme in Eastern Ontario include migratory routes along the Rideau, St. Lawrence and Ottawa River basins. If not identified and treated Lyme disease can result in serious health
issues. The classic symptom of a Lyme infection is the appearance of a “bull’s eye” rash that usually appears a week or so after being bitten by an infected tick and is often accompanied with flu-like symptoms. Anyone developing a bull’s eye needs to see a doctor immediately. The good news is that at this initial stage Lyme is very treatable with a course of anti-biotics. The bad news is that if not caught in time Lyme can become a chronic illness with life-long debilitating effects including arthritis, fatigue, memory loss, dementia, facial paralysis, heart palpitations, severe headaches, and other neurological disorders. The identification and treatment of Lyme disease has not been an easy
journey and has often been filled with controversy. Many health professionals were in fact unaware of it with the result that it wasn’t uncommon for Lyme to be dismissed or confused with other ailments including MS, Lupus and ALS. Here in Canada, and as recently as 2014, publications like MacLeans documented cases of sick Canadians who out of desperation sought testing and treatment in the United States where health professionals had been dealing with it for many years. Fortunately, the health care community in Canada has awakened to the
real threat that Lyme now poses in this country. A National Lyme Strategy that was approved by Parliament in 2014 took into account that by 2020 Canada can expect 20,000 confirmed cases a year. In the United States an astounding 300,000 cases are occurring annually. In Canada, the federal and provincial governments along with the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation are leading the way with awareness and educational programs.
28 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
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