Peterborough Public Health has identified a tick infected with the bacterium that causes Lyme disease — the first one this season. The infected tick was discovered as part of the health unit’s recent surveillance work in Petroglyphs Provincial Park.

The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis, also known as deer ticks) is the only species in Ontario that hosts the bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) that causes Lyme disease.

“The National Microbiology Laboratory confirmed that a blacklegged tick found in our area has tested positive for Lyme disease,” says Peterborough Public Health manage of environmental programs Julie Ingram. “This serves as a good reminder to be tick smart and take precautions when going into any wooded and grassy areas, especially those with known tick populations.”

The health unit will be conducting additional surveillance in Petroglyphs Provincial Park this fall. If more infected blacklegged ticks are identified from the same location, this information will inform Public Health Ontario’s map of estimated risk areas for Lyme disease in Ontario.

Residents are encouraged to monitor themselves for ticks, and to use the eTick website at etick.ca to submit a photo of a tick to find out if it’s a blacklegged tick. You can also use eTick’s free mobile app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Once you submit a photo, the identification results will be available within 48 hours. Real-time mapping of tick submissions is also shown on the website.

If you can’t use the eTick website or app, you can submit a tick for testing to Peterborough Public Health. When bringing a tick to Peterborough Public Health, be aware that only ticks found on humans will be submitted for identification and testing. Any ticks found on pets or other animals should be taken to a veterinarian.

Preventing tick bites

The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid getting bitten by ticks in areas where they live, such as tall grasses and wooded habitats.

Before heading out, wear long and light-coloured clothing and tuck pant legs into socks. Spray an insect repellent containing DEET on your clothes. Check for ticks when you return from the outdoors, and it’s a good idea to shower after you get home to wash off any ticks that may be crawling on your body.

The signs of Lyme disease can be categorized in three stages. However, the first sign is usually a circular rash in the shape of a bull’s eye. Other symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.

What to do if you find a tick

Ticks can be as small as a sesame seed and their bites are usually painless. If you do locate a tick on your body, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible and pull the tick straight out. Removing the tick within 24 hours is key to preventing Lyme disease infection.

The best and quickest way to determine if the tick is the species that carries Lyme disease is to use the eTick app or website.

Lyme disease has gained the attention of health officials because cases in Ontario are increasing. In 2019, residents submitted approximately 280 ticks to Peterborough Public Health for identification and testing.

While final analysis of results from submissions later in the year are pending, of the 23 ticks that were confirmed positive for Lyme disease between January to June 2019,, five of those came from Peterborough County.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious illness and growing health risk across Ontario. It is caused by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. While not all blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, populations of infected blacklegged ticks are spreading throughout Ontario. Some southern areas of the geographical area serviced by Peterborough Public Health have been identified as a risk area by Public Health Ontario.

The United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes (UWCKL) has announced that Edwin Binney’s Community Garden in Lindsay has already harvested more than 1,000 pounds of food for local organizations and food programs.

The community garden comprises 30,000 square feet of Crayola Canada’s previously unused land that UWCKL and Fleming College staff developed into a fully operational community garden in 2019.

The garden produced 5,500 pounds of food last year and, with the help of the department of sustainable agriculture at Fleming College’s Frost Campus, is projecting a 40 per cent increase in yield this growing season.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges for the community agriculture project. First, there was the uncertainty early in the growing season as to whether community gardens would be allowed to operate at all. In April, the Ontario government amended its emergency orders to identify the gardens as an essential service for people who face food insecurity.

Now, the community garden’s team has had to find new ways to reach people who may be isolated due to COVID-19.

“With the support of the City of Kawartha Lakes social services department, we have been able to reach out to our neighbours at two social housing locations with our Fresh Produce Friday pilot project,” explains UCWL projects and communications coordinator Mallory Cramp-Waldinsperger. “This program provides a free market table of locally grown produce to seniors and members of our community who may be vulnerable to isolation.”

The community garden has also collaborated with Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes to deliver a free monthly produce bag to 90 of that organization’s clients.

“Agency partnerships are critical to help people immediately in tough and unusual times,” says UWCKL executive director Penny Barton Dyke.

“Edwin Binney’s Community Garden has many partners with each contributing and dovetailing to bring knowledge, land, access to products, and the opportunity to bring fresh produce to kitchen tables,” she adds. “This is an agricultural and education project that is building sustainable practices and partnerships,”

Peterborough Public Health announced on Monday (July 27) that mosquitoes in the City of Peterborough have tested positive for West Nile virus.

These are the first virus-positive mosquitoes found in Peterborough and in Ontario this year. According to Public Health Ontario, there were no virus-positive mosquitoes identified in the province as of July 18th and no cases of people infected with West Nile virus.

The mosquitoes were trapped from Monday, July 20th to Thursday, July 23rd. During the summer and early fall, the health unit sets traps weekly throughout the city and county of Peterborough to gather mosquitoes for testing.

“Now that we’ve identified mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus in our area, it’s especially important that residents take care to prevent mosquito bites,” says public health inspector Wanda Tonus. “This is a good reminder for residents to get rid of any standing water in their yards and to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.”

The majority of people infected with West Nile virus do not show any symptoms. Around 20 per cent of those infected people may have a mild flu-like illness with fever, headache, and body aches, occasionally with a skin rash and swollen lymph nodes or other non-specific symptoms that last several days.

Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, or eye pain. Less than one per cent of infected people will develop neuro-invasive disease, with older age groups and males disproportionately affected.

Although the risk of becoming infected is low, prevention against mosquito bites is the best protection:

• Cover up when going outside between the hours of dusk and dawn. Remember to wear a long-sleeved shirt or jacket and long pants (tucked into your socks for extra protection) and light-coloured clothing. if you will be outside for a long time, wear special clothing that is designed to protect you from bugs.
• Use insect repellent containing DEET. DEET is a powerful chemical. Always read the label directions for use, or ask your pharmacist for help when choosing a DEET product.
• Once a week, get rid of standing water around your home. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in even small amounts of stagnant water. Keep bushes and shrubs clear of overgrowth and debris, as adult mosquitoes like to rest in dense shrubbery, and turn your compost pile often.

The health unit notes the City of Peterborough is also larviciding — applying insecticide that is specifically targeted against the larval life stage of mosquitoes — catch basins within its jurisdiction. One round has been completed and a second round is underway.

Kirkfield resident Wendy Page matched all seven Encore numbers in exact order in the July 18th Lotto 6/49 draw and won $1 million.

The 61-year-old retired retail worker was at home with her husband when she discovered her win.

“My husband was checking my ticket and suddenly he said, ‘Wendy we did it, we won Encore!’, she said while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto to pick up her cheque. “It was wonderful. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.”

Page says she would like to travel across the country and do some work around the house — “a new deck and maybe a pool”.

“This is an incredible once-in-a-lifetime moment,” Page said. “I don’t even know what to say, I’m speechless. I can’t even begin to explain how much stress from everyday living has been lifted. It will be so nice to not have to worry. We’re set for life.”

Page purchased her winning ticket at Naturipe Food Market on Portage Road in Bolsover.

Kawartha Lakes police are looking for a man who dumped two bags of garbage inside a Lindsay office last Thursday morning (July 23).

At around 10:30 a.m., a man parked a grey car on Lindsay Street North and removed two bags of garbage from the car.

He then walked into an office on Lindsay Street North and threw the two bags inside, without saying anything to staff inside the office.

The man returned to his vehicle and left the area.

He is described as white, 40 to 50 years old, with a stocky build and a goatee. The man was wearing a dark coloured t-shirt with a small logo on the left breast and a dark baseball hat with a logo on the front.

The Kawartha Lakes Police Service is asking that anyone with information about this incident contact an investigator at 705-324-5252. If you wish to provide your information anonymously, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.kh.crimestoppersweb.com.

Kawartha Lakes police are looking for a suspect in a purse-snatching incident in Lindsay on Sunday morning (July 26).

At around 6 a.m., a woman who was walking in the area of Kent Street West turned north to walk through an alley between two downtown businesses.

At the north end of the alley near a municipal parking lot, the woman felt a tug from behind on a purse she was carrying over her shoulder.

The woman turned and observed a man on a bicycle. He was able to pull the woman’s purse off her shoulder, knocking her to the ground in the process. The woman was taken to hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The male suspect is described as white, medium build, wearing a red hat, dark shirt, grey shorts and black shoes. The man was riding a red mountain bike and was carrying a black backpack.

The Kawartha Lakes Police Service is asking that anyone with information about this incident contact an investigator at 705-324-5252. If you wish to provide your information anonymously,e contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.kh.crimestoppersweb.com.

The Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, will be providing up to $4 billion in one-time assistance to Ontario’s 444 municipalities to address budgetary shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was made on Monday afternoon (July 27) at Queen’s Park by Premier Doug Ford, deputy premier and health minister Christine Elliott, finance minister Rod Phillips, municipal affairs and housing minister Steve Clark, and transportation minister Caroline Mulroney.

“By working together, we have united the country in the face of the immense challenges brought on by COVID-19 and secured a historic deal with the federal government to ensure a strong recovery for Ontario and for Canada,” said Premier Ford.

“I want to thank Ontario’s 444 local leaders who supported us through our negotiations with the federal government and through each stage of reopening. We will continue to be a champion for our municipal partners as they safely reopen their communities and ensure people can get back to work,” Ford said.

Up to $2 billion will be available to relieve municipal operating pressures, with $777 million coming from the federal government and $1.2 billion from the Ontario government. Another $2 billion will be available to address shortfalls in transit, with $1 billion coming from each of the federal and provincial governments.

The funding will help local governments maintain critical services, including public transit, over the next six to eight months. The province says it will provide details on specific allocations in the coming weeks.