Dear Brothers & Sisters:

With summer upon us, now’s a good time to remind each of you to take steps to avoid falling victim to a disease from an insect bite.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report citing that the most common vector-borne pathogens in the United States are transmitted by ticks or mosquitoes, including those causing Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, West Nile, dengue, and Zika virus diseases.

Due to the outdoor nature of certain types of construction work you may be doing, please protect yourselves, understand the symptoms of vector-borne diseases, and know what to do if they believe they have contracted a vector-borne disease. Here are some tips to help prevent getting a vector-borne disease:

• Avoid brushy, overgrown grassy, and wooded habitats;
• Remove leaves, tall grass, and brush from areas surrounding work areas or residential areas, thereby reducing tick, deer, and rodent habitat;
• Eliminate sources of standing water (e.g., tires, buckets, cans, bottles, barrels) whenever possible to reduce or eliminate mosquito breeding areas;
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and tuck pant legs into socks or boots to prevent ticks and mosquitos from reaching the skin;
• Wear high boots or closed shoes that cover the entire foot;
• Spray insect repellents on exposed skin, excluding the face. Use permethrin on clothes to kill ticks on contact;
• Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks can be more easily seen and removed before attachment occurs;
• Check the body carefully for ticks or mosquito bites. If ticks are found, promptly remove them with tweezers. (DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove the tick).

According to the CDC, about 650,000 vector-borne diseases were contracted in the USA in the last 12 years. During this time, tick-borne bacterial and protozoan diseases more than doubled, while lyme disease accounted for 82% of all tick-borne disease reported across the continental United States.

Stay safe out there and as always, thank you for your hard work!

Yours in Solidarity,

Dennis Donahou, Vice President

UBC Southern District