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Lyme Disease Awareness Month — May 2022

April 28, 2022

The warm weather is finally here and that also means the start of tick season.  Scouts Canada is proud to partner with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to raise awareness of tick and Lyme disease this spring. 

  • Did you know that ticks can be the size of a poppy seed?
  • Did you know that ticks can be found throughout Canada?
  • Did you know that Lyme disease is spread through infected blacklegged ticks?
  • Did you know that more than 40 different types of ticks live in Canada but only 2 types can spread the bacteria that causes Lyme disease in people (blacklegged ticks and western blacklegged ticks)?

It’s important to identify and understand the risk of tick bites, how to prevent them and how to remove a tick if you are bit.

As part of this campaign, Scouts Canada and PHAC have developed a comprehensive program designed to help Scouting youth and their families:

  • Understand risk of tick bites and Lyme disease
  • Recognize ticks and the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease
  • Increase awareness around climate change and how this can affect tick populations and geographic distribution
  • Connect ticks and Lyme disease to the Earth & Science Personal Achievement Badges (PAB) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
  • Provide resources for further learning, bite prevention and safety tips
  • Enjoy the outdoors safely this summer!

 


Funding for this project has been made possible through a contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

RESOURCES


Learn more about tick and Lyme disease by checking out these great resources.