The results of the two-year study, the first of its kind in Canada, will be published in the B.C. Medical Journal next month. The investigation was launched after nearly 600 B.C. residents, including many from the North Shore, tested positive for Lyme disease. The Borreliosis Working Group, named after the bacteria that causes the infectious disease, cultured 2,000 ticks known to carry the spirochete-infection fram around the province, and exam- ined the blood of 3,000 patients suspected of having the disease. All the ticks tested negative for Lyme disease, said North Van- couver rheumatologist Dr. David O'Hanlon, deputy chief of medi- cine at Lions Gate Hospital and co-director of the working group. Those who originally tested pos- itive were re-tested using another method considered to be more ac- curate. This time, they all tested Negative. “When we looked at all of the cases that tested positive and then did the more definitive test (refer- red to as Western Blot), they all turned out to be negative.’’ said O'Hanlon. “We now know a person can test positive for Lyme disease for a number of ther reasons, the most common one being by mere- ly having a dental infection of abscess. Other infections can pro- duce the Lyme disease antibody too — someone who has had syphilis, even 50 years ago, will still test positive for Lyme disease.” Only two people examined at the Lyme disease clinic at Shaughnessy Hospital had actual- ly contracted Lyme disease, said O’Hanlon. However, both were exposed to the infection outside of B.C. — one in Manitoba, the other in Long Point, Ontario. He said the findings should put to rest public fears about catching the disease in B.C. “*We can now say with a fair degree of accuracy that there is not any Lyme disease in B.C.,”’ Moccasin Handmade sheepskin, 6 different colours infanis to size 12 Adulis only $36°° &up “the best prices anywhere!” COAST SALISH HANDICRAFTS: Mon-Fri. 12-5 p.m. Sat. 10-5 pm. Dec only Sunday 12-5 pm. 1500 block McGuire North Vancouver 987-3339 10 ~ Sunday, December 1, 1991 - North Shore News Lyme disease threat AFTER CHOPPING up the insides of ticks and poring over thousands of blood samples, a group of Vancouver- area doctors has made a remarkable discovery: contrary to public opinion, there is littl or no risk of contracting Lyme disease in British Columbia. By Evelyn Jacob News Reporter O’Hanlon said. Lyme disease, named after the Connecticut city where cases of the disease were first reported in 1975, is characterized by joint pain, fatigue and headaches. While most suffer only short- (erm symptoms, some people can develop acute heart and neurological disorders and chronic nervous system and joint disease. The bacteria is transmitted into the bloodstream by way of an in- fected tick bite, which is often painless. The disease resembles syphilis in that the initial infection is mild and often goes undetected, said O'Hanlon. No case of person-to-person in- fection has ever been documented. But while the study results mean that people should not be overly- “ CV. OXAG: © Discount On Membership ® Customized Travel Service )° 5% Discount On All Domestic Flights © 10% Discount On Package Tours * Toll-Free Telephone Service ® More! Lynn Valley Centre 1175 Lynn Valley Rd. North 1 Vancouver, B.C. f concerned about coming down with Lyme disease in B.C., it does not mean it will not spread here. If the disease does come, the conditions are particularly ripe in B.C. for it to spread quickly, said O'Hanlon. “We have thousands of ticks here and they’re all the right sort (for carrying Lyme disease),"’ he said. O'Hanlon is concerned that B.C. may be increasing the poten- tial for a major outbreak by feit- ing vast areas of forest and thus increasing the deer population. Deer, the Ixodes tick's favorite host — in particular the white- tailed deer -—- typically feed on new-growth trees. All it will take for an outbreak to occur is for one infected deer to cross the border into B.C. But O’Hanton says Agriculture Canada has imposed strict reeula- tions on importing deer to Canada. How the disease will eventually be spread here, he said, is by birds. “And there’s no way we can control that."’ To date, there have been few Hours: Mon.Thurs. 5: Fri. Sat. Sun. Bee: AUS... the lowest price’ is the law * EFITS | For ADVANTAGE 60 Cardholders: ® Discount On Membership e Emergency Road Service, 24 Hrs. A Day, Anywhere In Canada Or The U.S. « Special Rates & Bonuses From Best Western, Avis And Goodyear - * Much More! 2 mae Wo ant - 9:30 am - 11:00 pm 9:30 am - 9:00 pm 11:00 am - 5:00 pm small in B.C. states, the Midwest and Califorr and Oregon in the west, accordi: to the U.S. Centre for Disea reported cases of Lyme disease in Canada. Most have been concen- trated in Long Point, Ontario and around the Great Lakes region. Controt. In the U.S., by contrast, more O'Hanlon said that if it we than 13,000 cases were reported not for AIDS, Lyme disea between 1980 and !988. 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