Lyme disease
If you spend time outdoors in forests and wooded areas or areas with shrubs, tall grass, and leaf litter for work or play, you should be aware of ticks and Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is a potentially serious infection that you can get if you’re bitten by an infected blacklegged tick (also called a deer tick). Not all blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and not everyone who is bitten by an infected tick will develop signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.
Lyme disease can be a serious, but preventable illness. You can protect yourself and your family:
- Know where the high-risk areas are located in your community and when you travel.
- Do a tick check after all outdoor activities and learn more about how to prevent exposure.
- Learn about what to do if you find a tick, get bit, or get sick.
High-risk areas:
Lambton Public Health (LPH) has identified the Pinery Provincial Park and the 20 km area surrounding the Pinery Provincial Park, as a high-risk area.
Lambton Public Heath has been using active surveillance techniques to identify risk. Through active surveillance, Lambton Public Health has seen an increase in the population of blacklegged ticks in this area. Additionally, LPH has seen an increase in the number of blacklegged ticks testing positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Public Health Ontario’s Lyme disease page has a map (called “Ontario Lyme disease estimated risk areas map”) that shows areas in Ontario where they estimate you are more likely to find blacklegged ticks.
Important steps if you find a tick:
See the Tick Identification section on our website.
Information and resources:
Learn more at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/lyme-disease
- What blacklegged ticks look like
- Where blacklegged ticks live
- How to avoid getting a tick bite
- How to remove a tick
- Tick testing
- Lyme disease signs and symptoms
- Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment
Additional Resources
Built Environment
A safe environment is a “built” environment that positively impacts our physical and mental health, safety, sense of community belonging and the economic health of our community.
The built environment is our physical surroundings. It is the infrastructure we encounter in our daily lives, like buildings, parks, schools, proximity to stores, road systems and trails. Positive community design and development of urban and rural spaces takes the health of its residents into consideration.
Lambton Public Health, community planners, and decision-makers in municipal settings share a responsibility to shape healthier environments and promote positive healthy behaviours by considering how their communities would benefit most when planning action for the built environment.
Lambton Public Health focuses on five areas that lead to a safe environment:
- Healthy transportation networks
- Healthy food systems
- Healthy neighbourhood design
- Healthy natural environments
- Healthy housing
Help ensure Lambton County has a safe environment by:
- Looking at your local land-use plans and policies and think about how they impact your health
- Getting involved in a community group, or share your voice and ideas with your local municipality