This time what the cat dragged in could kill you.
Provincial health officials issued a formal warning yesterday after a small group of ticks found on pets in Edmonton and Calgary tested positive for Lyme disease bacteria this year.
Calgary veterinarian Julie Schell said pet owners should definitely be aware of the potential dangers associated with the disease. If a tick is squeezed when removing it from a pet it can release parasites carrying the disease and infect an owner, she said.
“I would say it’s really bad,” said Schell, who has seen three times the number of pets carrying ticks come through her clinic this year. “It’s really hard to diagnose . . . just over the past few months there have been five cases that are known but you can imagine how many are unknown.”
Dr. Andre Corriveau, the province’s chief medical officer, said ticks like to climb on tall grass and bushes, then latch onto an animal, burrow and feed on their blood.
“The first thing that will happen is a rash will develop around the site of the bite and it will look like a bull’s-eye,” he said.
For removing the ticks, Schell suggested using rubber gloves or purchasing devices designed specifically for the task. She also says if you are bitten and have “waxing and waning illness” in the following weeks, not to ignore those symptoms.
With files from shelley williamson
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