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Rabies Awareness Month provides a reminder to avoid contact with wildlife

All animal bites, scratches must be reported to Health Department

Whitby, Ontario – May is Rabies Awareness Month, and Durham Region Health Department is reminding area residents to avoid contact with wildlife, as rabies is commonly associated with bats, foxes, skunks and raccoons. Infected animals can transmit the rabies virus to humans through bites, scratches, or saliva. Although rabies is a preventable disease, it is almost always fatal for humans and most animals once infection occurs. In...

May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Health Department urges everyone to take precautions against tick bites

Whitby, Ontario – As the weather warms up and outdoor activities increase, Durham Region Health Department reminds everyone to take precautions against tick bites, which can lead to Lyme disease infections.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which can be transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick. Blacklegged ticks are widespread across Durham Region, especially in forested or grassy...

Health Department begins 2025 West Nile virus surveillance program

Whitby, Ontario – Durham Region Health Department will begin West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance and control program for the 2025 season on May 12. This program includes adult mosquito trapping to test for WNV, surveillance for larval mosquito activity, and administering larvicide in catch basins and surface water sites throughout Durham Region.

New for this season, the Health Department will no longer mail forms to private property owners for owners to request larviciding of catch basins located...

Health Department releases report on solar ultraviolet radiation in Durham Region

Whitby, Ontario – Climate change may lead to more harmful solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure among residents of Durham Region, and the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and other Indigenous Peoples with whom we share these lands. Continued exposure to harmful solar UVR can lead to the risk of sunburn, eye damage, skin cancers and suppression of the immune system.

To help learn, prepare for, and act against climate change, Durham Region Health Department has released the report,

KI tablets available for all area residents and businesses located near nuclear generating stations

Whitby, Ontario – Durham Region Health Department is reminding all residents living within 10 kilometres of the Pickering or Darlington nuclear generating stations to ensure they have a supply of potassium iodide (KI) tablets. These tablets are crucial in reducing the risk of thyroid cancer in the unlikely event of a radioactive iodine release.

KI is a salt of stable iodine that helps protect the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine. By taking KI tablets, residents can effectively block the...