Local experts present update on Lyme

Lyme Disease in Eastern Ontario will be the focus of the first dinner meeting of the QDVA’s winter 2014 series on Wednesday, February 19th. Co-sponsored by Bayer Animal Health and IDEXX Laboratories, the talk will feature tick experts Lisa Werden and Dr. Scott Stevenson who will provide the latest updates on the status of Lyme disease in our area. The speakers will explore the human risks of Lyme, as well as prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in dogs.

Dr. Scott Stevenson (DVM ‘13, M.Sc. ‘09, B.M.Sc ‘07) is employed at Thousand Islands Veterinary Services in Gananoque, where Lyme disease and blacklegged ticks were discovered in 2006.  With his mentor, OVC parasitologist Dr. Andrew Peregrine, Scott has explored the epidemiology of veterinary parasitology in both academic and clinical settings.  Working in a mixed animal practice in an area endemic for Lyme, Scott is especially familiar with management of the disease in the clinical setting in eastern Ontario.

Lisa Werden (M.Sc ’12, B.Sc. ’05) completed her graduate research on ticks and Lyme disease in the Thousand Islands.  An employee of Thousand Islands National Park since 2005, Lisa was working in the communications department at the park when ticks and Lyme disease were first discovered in the Thousand Islands.  Her interest in public safety and education led her to pursue a graduate research project on the subject and now motivate her to share information about the biology, identification, and control of ticks and Lyme disease with visitors and residents in the Thousand Islands region and beyond.   In the past two years, she has presented her tick and Lyme disease research to numerous groups, including Toronto Public Health, Ontario Parks, Parks Canada, and local residents’ and field naturalists’ groups in eastern Ontario.

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, this meeting is being offered free to QDVA members and their staff. The cost to non-members is $60 per person. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. sharp. Dinner will be catered by L’Auberge de France.

Registration closed.