By CHAT News Today

Province advising residents to be aware of ticks over long weekend

May 20, 2017 | 5:00 AM

EDMONTON — It’s tick season, and the province is reminding residents to be aware of the arachnid this long weekend.

They also ask residents to submit any ticks they find on themselves or their animals to help with provincial monitoring.

Albertans can present any ticks they find in the environment or on themselves to a physician, an Environmental Public Health Office or a First Nations Health Centre. Ticks found on pets or livestock should be submitted to a veterinarian.

The submitted ticks are checked to see if they carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which can cause Lyme disease. Humans can contract Lyme disease if they are bitten by an infected tick.

Last year, 2,781 ticks were submitted to the province, but only 34 had the bacteria that caused the disease.

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“Thanks to Albertans who have submitted ticks, government has been able to monitor what types of ticks are in the province,” said Dr. Kristin Klein, Deputy Medical Officer of Health, in a news release. “Although the risk of getting Lyme disease in Alberta is very low, I encourage Albertans to keep submitting ticks they find so we can continue to assess this risk.”

The province has been testing ticks found on pets and farm animals since 2007, and expanded the program to include ticks found on people and the environment in 2013.

Between 1991 and 2016, 88 cases of Lyme disease were reported to Alberta Health, though all of the cases were acquired while travelling outside the province.

Information about how to safely remove a tick can be found here.