What are the things that signify a Manitoba spring? The sight and sounds of geese, the lawn taking on the faintest shade of green, and the little creepy crawlies that you feel making tracks up your leg in the middle of the night.
Yes, unfortunately in Manitoba with the season of spring comes the season of ticks.
Brandon University professor in the Department of Biology, Dr. Bryan Cassone, has a keen interest in infectious diseases carried by both ticks and mosquitos.
Dr. Cassone says there are specifically two types of ticks that we see here in Manitoba: the Black-legged (Deer) Ticks and American Dog (Wood) Ticks. In addition, he sees a handful of Lone Star Ticks each summer that can potentially carry Rocky Mountain Fever.
The deer tick is the one that people are most concerned with as it can cause Lyme Disease, says Dr. Cassone.
He says the deer tick becomes active when the temperatures reach about 4 degrees Celsius as opposed to the 'wood' tick which is a bit larger and usually found between May and July.
"So, the deer ticks are active now until usually late fall," he says. "There was a Canadian study a year or two ago which showed the ticks that were infected with Lyme Disease survived better during the winter than those uninfected. And it's the adults and the lymph stage or the juvenile stage that can transmit Lyme Disease if they're infected."
"The nymph deer ticks are the ones we're most concerned about, and they're active now until usually early summer," adds Dr. Cassone. "So, this is usually the worst time for Lyme Disease. And the reason the nymphs are the biggest concern when they're active is that they're so much smaller that it's hard to detect when they are on you and feeding."
Studies suggest the tick could be feeding on you up to 36 hours before you contract the disease. But because the nymph ticks are so very tiny, they're hard to see or feel, especially when they tuck into skin that is often covered up, like the back of the neck.
"That's the big concern. They get into little nooks and crannies that you may not be checking routinely, and they establish a bite and can transfer the bacteria."
The populations of most these two species of ticks are spread across Southern Manitoba, but research is showing they are becoming more and more prevalent as we head north and west in Manitoba. Dr. Cassone contributes this to climate change.
"A lot of people may not realize this, but they are also brought in through thousands and thousands of migrating birds every year," he adds. "That's a big infusion of ticks within Manitoba. And again, they do have established populations over winter as well."
Cassone says ticks are fairly indifferent as to how they attach to animals in the wild, or migratory birds like geese and ducks, but these are most definitely ways more ticks come into Manitoba.
The concern arises when lone star ticks are in North Dakota and can potentially carry Rocky Mountain Fever, where the side effects can result in an allergy to red meat. But that's just one of the diseases of the lone star tick and it's cousins the wood tick and deer tick. Other tick-borne diseases include alpha-gal syndrome, bourbon virus, ehrlichiosis, heartland virus disease, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) and tularemia.
"We don't think the lone star tick is established right now," adds Dr. Cassone. "We collect a handful of them every year and so yes, it is a bit of a concern. But I think the one that most people are concerned with is the deer tick for Lyme Disease."
The bulls-eye shaped rash is the biggest indicator that you could have Lyme Disease infection, but there are cases where patients did not get that bulls-eye shaped rash, or they got a different shaped rash, but it was paired with flu-like symptoms and that led to a more decisive diagnosis.
"The thing with this bacterium is that it moves in your body," he explains. "It's kind of unpredictable in terms of its symptoms. It's highly mobile, unlike other ones that may enter your cells and have a more routine infection process. So, if it gets into your brain, it causes certain symptoms. If it gets into your cardiac, you'll have different symptoms. If it gets into your joints, it can cause inflammation. It's somewhat unpredictable with symptoms, but usually you get some sort of rash."
Dr. Cassone says the way we test for Lyme Disease is through a blood test to detect the antibodies that fight the disease, rather than the actual bacteria.
"So, if you're in a situation where you're not producing the antibodies, or you're testing too soon where you haven't produced the antibodies yet, you're going to get a false negative essentially."
There are a small number of cases reported every year in Manitoba of other tick-borne diseases that are very rare to our province. However, it's important to note that these other diseases are not really tested for in Manitoba, so we don't actually have a true case-prevalence in the province, says Dr. Cassone.
"Even with wood ticks there are reported cases of rocky mountain spotted fever and tularemia in North Dakota, but we're not tested over here. So, are those pathogens that cause those diseases here? I wouldn't be surprised. But again, we don't test for them and so these symptoms you don't know what they are and you're not getting the test that you need because you're not expecting it in Manitoba."
"The best thing you can do is to ask your doctor to see if you can get a test from a clinical micro-biologist," he suggests. "They generally have a really good understanding of tick-borne pathogens, and they might be able to help."
Ways to prevent tick bites is to tuck the bottom of your pants into your socks, check your clothing and your body for wanderers, and dry yourself thoroughly after a shower.