Recruiting more than 10,000 randomly selected residents of the Estrie region of Quebec between June and September 2018, researchers used a questionnaire in an effort to determine if there was a connection between human behaviour and tick exposure in this high Lyme risk region. This study found that only roughly a quarter of people they surveyed did tick checks, a third used tick repellants, and just under half showered after outdoor activities. Not only were the rates at which residents engaged in preventative behaviour low, they were stubbornly so, remaining inline with those recorded a various points over the past decade. This lack of behaviour modification has led these researchers to conclude that there has been no progress in getting people to change their behaviour in response to increased Lyme disease risk in recent years. Their recommendation is for public education about ticks and tick-borne diseases increase in the coming years in an effort to get more residents in high risk areas to adopt preventative measures.
