Ticks with bacteria that can cause Lyme disease found in southwest Nova Scotia

GAVELTON, N.S. – A community in southwestern Nova Scotia has been added to a list of places where ticks have been found to carry the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease.

The provincial government says a surveillance program identified the bacteria in field work done in and around Gavelton.

The community in Yarmouth County is one of a number of areas in the province where ticks have been identified as carrying the bacteria.

The medical officer of health for South West Health says this isn’t the time of the year when ticks are typically most active and the risk of contracting Lyme disease is low.

But Dr. Lynda Earle says people should keep the risk in mind when working or playing in grassy and wooded areas.

Ticks are active until the first permanent snowfall or when air temperatures are consistently below four degrees Celsius.

Enclosing shoes while walking in wooded areas, pulling your socks up over your pant legs, tucking in shirts, and spraying clothing and exposed skin with insect repellent containing DEET are among ways people can take precautions against ticks.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled Gavelton.