The hunt is on in New Brunswick for ticks that carry Lyme disease.
A team of researchers from Mount Allison University spent Wednesday combing fields and wooded areas of Fredericton’s Odell Park in search of the tiny creatures.
Experts say Lyme-carrying ticks are multiplying at alarming rates and spreading. Ticks are commonly found in wooded areas and fields.
"There are two known areas, they're called endemic areas, but there are a lot more that we don't know about, so that's part of what we're doing here, we're trying to find out where the ticks are," says biologist Vett Lloyd.
Debbie McCann had Lyme disease. The illness produces a wide range of symptoms, from joint paint to paralysis.
"I was off balance, I was light-headed, I was having headaches when I never had headaches before," says McCann.
She says awareness of the disease and of ticks is key.
“Right now, it's an emerging disease in our province and there's not a lot known about it in our medical community, so that makes it even more important that people are prepared and they are educated and they know what's going on with this disease,” says McCann.
While commonly found in rural areas, Lloyd says ticks can be found almost anywhere. He says ticks are just as likely to be found in an urban setting as they would be in the woods.
“In downtown Toronto, on concrete, probably no ticks, but everywhere else, you have a chance of encountering ticks," says Lloyd.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
