Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Program Manager Bill Sherlock, June 6, 2018 (Photo: Mary Thomas/ Quinte News)
The incidence of ticks in the Quinte region is higher than the provincial average.
A report to the Hastings Prince Edward Board of Health on Wednesday indicates that the estimated risk areas for Lyme disease, caused by ticks, are spread throughout the Quinte area, south of Highway 7, and the highest incidence is in the Kingston area.
Program Manager Bill Sherlock told the board there were 30 reported cases of Lyme disease in the area per 100,000 population last year compared to seven per 100,000 throughout the entire province.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Heath Inspector Aptie Sookoo, June 6, 2018 (Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Public Health Inspector Aptie Sookoo says the ticks are travelling further north.
Sookoo told the board that inspectors are checking with summer camp facilities to ensure they know how to deal with the ticks if they show up on visitors.
The health unit is no longer accepting ticks from the public, south of Highway 7, but are accepting them in the area north of the highway, helping to decide on the possibility of Lyme disease.
Blacklegged tick
