BRIGUS, N.L. — Testing is underway to determine whether Newfoundland and Labrador has its first cases of locally contracted Lyme disease.
A four-year-old girl and her grandmother are undergoing treatment with antibiotics after presenting to health officials with a bull's eye rash that can develop when someone has contracted the illness from a tick bite.
Dr. Kevin Chan, chief clinical officer of children's health at Eastern Health, says both are taking antibiotics to fight possible complications from Lyme disease.
They can include heart and neurological problems, and severe arthritis.
Lyme disease has been confirmed before in pets in the province, but he says this could be the first case of people contracting it locally.
Chan says the incident is being tracked carefully by health officials.
(VOCM)
The Canadian Press