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Global TV News: Nova Scotia has the highest tick-to-human ratio in the country: biology professor
By Alexa MacLean, Global News May 17th, 2022
A biology professor who studies ticks for a living says Nova Scotians should expect to encounter the parasites whenever they venture outdoors.
“Certainly, it’s hard not to notice ticks anywhere in Nova Scotia unless you stay strictly on cement,” said Vett Lloyd, an epigenetics researcher and director of the Lloyd Tick Lab at Mount Allison University.
What exactly is the assessment at a pharmacy?
NS pharmacists are supposed to examine the tick and are permitted to dispense a single dose of doxycycline. We are all concerned about the misuse of antibiotics; under-treatment with single dose doxy is misuse and has only been shown to reduce the rash, not Lyme disease. The danger is this dose will drive the Borrelia into a persister state and the patient will not develop antibodies or be able to get a positive blood test because they failed to develop antibodies. NS pharmacists should have to follow these patients at 12 months to see if they suffered from worsening health problems. Keep the tick in a ziploc bag with a label and have the tick tested if you later become ill and suspect Lyme or TBD.