CBC News Montreal: Reported cases of Lyme disease on the rise in Montreal
May 19th, 2016
Arlene Rill knows all about the dangers of Lyme disease.
The 65-year-old resident of Hampstead, Que., says she was bitten by an infected tick in Montreal in 2014 and has suffered debilitating arthritis-like symptoms ever since.
“One tick can take away your life,” the retired schoolteacher says, and it’s a message she’s now working to spread.
Rill went to see a doctor soon after noticing the bite. The doctor, however, doubted it was Lyme disease since she hadn’t left Montreal, which is considered a low-risk area for the disease.
That’s still the case for Montreal, but a rise in Lyme disease reports now has public health officials on greater alert in Montreal.