WECHU warns of Lyme disease after record year

Last year was a record-breaking year for Lyme disease in Windsor-Essex. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco has details on this as tick season begins.

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, after it saw a record year for Lyme disease cases.

“Who wants to get Lyme Disease? Scary stuff.” said Nancy McCabe, who was out for a walk at Malden Park when she saw WECHU raising awareness with local media.

In 2024, there were 17 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the region.

“The more humid weather, rainfall, it supports the population of ticks in Windsor-Essex County,” said Elaine Bennett, Environmental Health Manager at the health unit.

She showed signs that will be going up at local trails in the area with recommendations which include sticking to the center of a trail and avoiding long, grassy areas. It is suggested to use insect repellent with DEET and wear bright coloured clothing.

“Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Tucking your pants into your socks just so that you’re fully covered to prevent the ticks from attaching to your body,” she said.

Bennett recommends taking a shower within two hours of coming inside and to do a body check after an outdoor activity.

“Unless I’m biking, I usually don’t stray from the path,” McCabe said.

“I understand there are ticks in our area.”

If you find a tick, remove it as soon as possible with a tick key or a pair of tweezers. Don’t squeeze and twist the tick.

“You want it to come out fully,” Bennett told CTV News.

“If you’re removing the tick within 24 hours, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease will not enter the bloodstream.”

The health unit conducted tick dragging at Malden Park on Tuesday with university students.

“We’re hoping not to find anything today,” Anna Klimenko, a public health inspector, said prior to starting the process with her team.

“If we do it’ll add some numbers to our data. Depends on the year. We have had years that we found more. Some years we found none at all, so we’ll see what happens.”

After 30 minutes, draggers recovered a dog tick which put in a container for study.

The health unit is tick dragging four sites in the region this spring looking for limbs and larvae.

“Public Health Ontario, they have a mapping system, Windsor-Essex County has already been deemed as endemic for our ticks. We just want to see exactly the extent,” Bennett said.