Lyme Disease On the Rise In Kanesatake Due to Climate Change

0
476
lyme disease

Lyme Disease: As per the latest report received from the Kanesatake Health Center (KHC), the risk of Lyme disease has gone far in the territory.

Stéphanie Lacaille, who’s the KHC manager of nursing and clinical services stated that it was only last year when 709 lyme disease cases were reported.

Please note that Lyme disease is transmitted through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. They are also known as deer ticks.

The disease is caused due to the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) carrying by these ticks.

Once a tick bites, it’s crucial to check for all the probable symptoms that can appear anywhere in a minimum of 3 days. It may also take up to 30 days for the symptoms to appear.

She explained that the most common symptom that appears after the bite of these ticks is a kind of red rash at the site of the tick bite. Some other symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, headache, chills, and fever.

In case, a person gets bitten by a tick and it’s been attached to the skin for 24 hours and the person doesn’t show any symptoms, doctors often prescribe antibiotics as an extra precautionary measure.

“But say there were symptoms like swollen lymph nodes or fever and chills – at that point, it would just confirm the presence of Lyme disease. Blood tests can also be done to confirm the disease,” she further explained.

If a person is bitten by any such tick, the first thing that one needs to perform is to remove the tick as soon as possible. The incubation period to develop any sort of infection is generally 24-36 hours after the bite of the tick.

 

Also Read: Mosquitoes Test Positive for Encephalitis Virus In South Georgia

 

This is what the nurse further stated, “It is very important to remove the tick entirely very carefully using tweezers to grasp the head as close to the skin as possible and slowly pull it out. Once removed, the person can then call the health center, and we will evaluate the situation to determine if antibiotics will be required or not,” she said.

You might be looking for the treatment of the Lyme disease. Well, in most cases, antibiotics are given, butt he effectiveness actually varies from person to person.

Although, in majority of cases, the treatment remains successful, a few people have also reported to have experienced symptoms afterwards.

This is what Lacaille stated further, “One thing is for sure: if left untreated, Lyme diseases can result in chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee, neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy, cognitive defects, such as impaired memory and heart rhythm irregularities. Although I must say that it is rare,” she said.

As prevention is better than cure, same goes with Lyme disease. The nurse recommends people to fully protect themselves before going to areas like a field or bush.

If you have to go to such an area, it’s better to wear long sleeves shirt and pants so as to spot ticks as soon as possible.

 

Also Read: WHO Declares An End to Latest Ebola Outbreak In African Country

 

 

Source: ca.news.yahoo.com