Tick-tracking program expands to New Brunswick

A new program to track ticks has expanded to New Brunswick.

It will allow researchers to monitor ticks and inform New Brunswick residentsabout their potential health risks.

When people discover a tick, they can take a photo and upload it to the Etick.ca website.

After answering several questions about the tick, a researcher identifies the tick and sends a detailed message to the person making the submission.

The message includes the tick species, any possible health risks and what to do if there is a health risk.

The tracker was created by Jade Savage, a biology professor at Bishop's University in Quebec.

"A lot of people freak out when they find a tick and they don't know what to do," Savage said in an interview with Information Morning in Moncton.

"They go on the web and it's not so easy to find information, so depending on the province we have different messages that will allow people to go to the resources that are available in their own province."

As soon as the specimen is identified by a researcher, a dot appears on an interactive map on the Etick website. As of Sunday, two dots appear on the map in New Brunswick.

The program, which is in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, also helps the researchers track information on the types of ticks and which species are located where. The project made its debut in Quebec in 2017.

"From the side of users, it's one more tool to get information, rapid information," Savage said.