Now that summer is here, and we Kawarthians (is that a word?) are busy immersing ourselves in the beautiful, wild spaces of nature, we also expose more of ourselves to some potentially nasty natural elements. Diseases and pathogens will always be components of the natural world, and for the most part, some humans have learned to handle themselves well enough by balancing the need to respect nature, to stay comfortable, and to not get eaten to death. This is usually called “wisdom” or “being a naturalist”. The knowledge that comes with being a naturalist usually means that we know what not to do in order to not die or to not get overly sick, while still having fun in nature.
The Ontario Ministry of Health has released new public information about Lyme disease and ticks. You may want to brush up on this info before ticks and lyme disease brushes up on you. Remember, don’t be afraid, just be knowledgable!
Have a good summer.
Cheers! Chris
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care
Let’s Target Lyme info
Ontario backlegged ticks (formerly called dear ticks) can carry lyme disease
Source: Public Information, Lyme Disease
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/disease/lyme.aspx