Cases of the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis are rapidly increasing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and it is likely only a matter of time before there are more cases on P.E.I.
, says a biologist who studies the critters. "The ticks you get on P.E.
I., a lot of them are brought from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on birds and other animals flopping across the water," said Vett Lloyd, a biology professor at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. "It's not clear if there are established populations on P.
E.I. or not.
It would be surprising if there weren't." Anaplasmosis is caused by anaplasma bacteria. Ticks pick it up from wild animals or birds, and can then pass it along to the people or pets it bites.
'Your freckles are not supposed to have legs': Tick checks matter even more in light of new threat 2 hours ago Duration 1:33 It’s tick season, and the critters don't just carry Lyme disease. Anaplasmosis is another threat borne by the insects. Vett Lloyd, a professor of biology at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.
B., talked to CBC P.E.
I.’s Steve Bruce and explained how you can protect your kids, your pets and yourself. People can have a wide range of reactions to the bacteria, but for most it is a mild illness.
Some will have no symptoms at all, while some may feel like they have the flu. Others may have severe reactions such as anemia and damage to internal organs, sometimes resulting in death, although that is mostly an issue for immunocompromised people. For ye.