Twenty black-legged ticks — the kind that can carry bacteria that causes Lyme disease — have been found near Shelburne.
The province has sent those ticks, which are from the Gunning Cove area, to be tested for the bacteria at the national microbiology lab in Winnipeg.
Ticks that do carry the bacteria were identified in the Lunenburg area in 2003 and in the Admiral Cove area of Bedford in 2005. There have been 12 reported cases of Lyme disease in Nova Scotia since 2002.
One does not get Lyme disease from quick contact with an infected tick; it must be attached to your skin for about 24 hours. Once bitten, there is about a two per cent risk of becoming infected, however, the infection can be treated with antibiotics.
Symptoms include a bulls-eye rash, fever, aching muscles, fatigue and headaches and it left untreated, Lyme disease can cause chronic heart or joint problems.
