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Blacklegged ticks are the most common carriers of Lyme disease in Canada, but what other tick-borne illnesses should you know about? (Photo via Getty Images)
Ticks are the kinds of critters typically no one enjoys coming into contact with. From the dangers of Lyme disease to rising cases of anaplasmosis in Canada, it’s a good idea to understand some of the tick-borne illnesses you — or even your beloved pet — could contract if you’re spending any time outdoors this summer.
Across the country, there are more than 40 species of ticks. Additionally, experts warn ticks might be “fitter, better, faster and stronger” this year, and populations might be growing rapidly in Canada. But what exactly are the different tick-borne diseases you should be aware of? Scroll below to read more about ailments like anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Lyme disease
What ticks carry it
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is spread through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. For most people, Lyme disease is contracted from a nymphs, which are about the size of poppy seeds, or adult female ticks, which are roughly the same size as sesame seeds.
Health Canada indicates these ticks must be attached for at least 24 hours in order to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. However, it’s worth noting not all blacklegged ticks are infected. They’ll only carry the bacteria after feeding on infected animals, including birds and rodents.
Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease
Oftentimes, Lyme disease symptoms can be mistaken for the flu. Within the first three to 30 days after a bite from an infected tick, a person might suffer a fever, chills, headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and fatigue.
A bullseye-shaped rash is a tell-tale sign of Lyme disease. (Photo via Getty Images)
Luckily, you might be able to decipher if it’s Lyme disease by looking out for a rash — called Erythema migrans — that often develops at the site of the tick bite. These occur in roughly 70 to 80 per cent of infections, typically a week after infection. This rash might grow up to 12 inches in size and may feel warm or hot to the touch.
Eventually, symptoms might progress to include a severe headache and neck stiffness, as well as more rashes on other parts of the body. Other symptoms might include facial palsy, arthritis, nerve pain, dizziness, heart palpitations, shooting pains or tingling in the hands or feet as well as short-term memory problems.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
Due to climate change, blacklegged ticks are spreading to new parts of Canada. Moreover, it’s not impossible to encounter one of theses ticks outside of where it’s known to live.
The federal government’s Lyme disease risk map indicates these ticks live in a few provinces, typically in southern zones. Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick are considered risk areas; parts of southern Manitoba are also included, including Winnipeg, Brandon and Dauphin. Vancouver Island and southern British Columbia are also hot spot areas, including areas like Kelowna, Kamloops and Vancouver. In Ontario and Quebec, these ticks might be living in the southern parts of those provinces, including Montreal, the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa. They might also be found in Thunder Bay and Kenora in Western Ontario, as well.
Parts of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are considered areas with Lyme disease risk. (Photo via the Government of Canada)
Anaplasmosis
What ticks carry it
Like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis is spread by infected blacklegged ticks. However, the human version of this condition is caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Sometimes, anaplasmosis might be called human granulocytic anaplasmosis, or HGA.
Signs and symptoms of anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis typically presents symptoms similar to that of the flu. But unlike Lyme disease, people who contract this ailment usually won’t develop a rash. Sometimes, it can even be asymptomatic.
The National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) indicates fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite might be symptoms of anaplasmosis. Symptoms typically start within a week or two of a tick bite.
Ticks carry a range of bacteria, parasites and viruses. (Photo via Getty Images)
If you don’t get treatment, more severe symptoms like seizures or confusion might arise. More serious issues might also arise for people who are older than age 50 and for those who are immunocompromised.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
Anaplasmosis is spread by infected blacklegged ticks, meaning the same areas where Lyme disease is a concern will also be a concern for this illness. But Central and Eastern Canada are predominantly areas of concern.
A recent Public Health Ontario report shows there were 40 cases of anaplasmosis in the province last year, 17 of which were confirmed. The majority of these cases were between June and August.
According to the NCCID, the first locally recorded case in Canada was in an Alberta resident in 2009, whereas Ontario only reported its first case in 2018. While risk levels across the country are relatively low, it continues to increase.
Babesiosis
What ticks carry it
Babesiosis is also carried by blacklegged ticks that are infected with the parasite Babesia, including Babesia microti, Babesia duncani or Babesia divergens. Cases of the tick-borne infection are considered rare, but it’s considered emerging, which means the number of cases has increased in recent years.
Closeup of a blacklegged tick on a skin surface.
Signs and symptoms of babesiosis
Babesiosis symptoms are similar to that of the flu, according to Cleveland Clinic, and they typically begin one to four weeks after exposure. These symptoms may include:
High fever
Fatigue
Chills
Sweating
Headache
Muscle or joint aches
Loss of appetite
Cough
However, around a quarter of people with babesiosis don’t have symptoms. Moreover, this illness doesn’t create a rash. Immunocompromised people and anyone who’s older is at greater risk of severe illness, which might come with symptoms like jaundice, pale skin, darker urine, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain or sudden mood changes.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
Until recently, babesiosis wasn’t found in Canada. But as blacklegged ticks spread to provinces like Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia amid climate change and migratory birds, this illness is coming with them. The best way to avoid contracting this ailment is to avoid getting bitten by blacklegged ticks.
Flu-like symptoms are common for tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis. (Photo via Getty Images)
Bartonellosis
What ticks carry it
Bartonellosis, often known as cat scratch fever, is an infection caused by several species of Bartonella bacteria. There are around 15 species that are known to cause the illness in humans.
Luckily, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes there is no evidence that humans can contract bartonellosis from ticks. Instead, people might get it from fleas, lice, sand flies or from an infected animal, typically a cat. Bartonella has been found in several tick species, including blacklegged ticks, Lone Star ticks and Pacific Coast ticks, causing an issue for pets.
Signs and symptoms of bartonellosis
In humans, common bartonellosis symptoms include fever, chills, weakness, body aches, loss of appetite, headaches and swollen lymph nodes. These symptoms may appear days or weeks after exposure, and a mild infection typically goes away on its own in two to four months.
Most cases of bartonellosis are mild, but it’s possible some species can cause more severe illness. More serious symptoms, which are often seen in people who are immunocompromised, include arthritis, enlarged liver and spleen, nervousness, pneumonia, eye inflammation, and weight loss.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
Since bartonella infections are typically transmitted to humans by cat scratches or, rarely, dog bites, it’s technically quite prevalent across the country. However, the NCCID notes Canada has only seen eight cases of the illness caused by the Bartonella quintana species since the mid-1990s.
Bartonellosis is often referred to the cat scratch fever, since that’s how it’s typically transmitted to humans. (Photo via Getty Images)
Ehrlichiosis
What ticks carry it
Ehrlichiosis is most commonly caused by a bacteria called Ehrlichia chaffeensis. Although common, ehrlichiosis is spread to humans by blacklegged and lone star ticks, according to the CDC.
Signs and symptoms of ehrlichiosis
Like the other tick-borne diseases, ehrlichiosis symptoms often begin one to two weeks within a tick bite. Some people might remain asymptomatic, while people who are immunocompromised might see more severe cases. Ehrlichiosis symptoms include:
Nausea is a common symptom of tick-borne illnesses. (Photo via Getty Images)
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
While blacklegged ticks might be able to transmit ehrlichiosis, it’s more common to get the illness from a lone star tick. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), these ticks have been found in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
Powassan virus
What ticks carry it
Powassan virus is a rare disease, but it’s still contracted by tick bites. Blacklegged ticks are the main culprit of this illness, but in rare cases, groundhog and squirrel ticks can transmit Powassan virus.
Signs and symptoms of Powassan virus
After a bite from an infected tick, Powassan virus symptoms might appear anywhere between one and four weeks. Common symptoms include fever and headaches, which can be followed by vomiting, fatigue, confusion, seizures, difficulty speaking or paralysis.
While many people don’t have symptoms with Powassan virus, it can also lead to encephalitis. This brain swelling can lead to permanent neurological conditions, like memory issues and paralysis, and it can even be fatal.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
The disease was named after Powassan, Ont., which is where the first case of the illness was identified in 1958. On top of where blacklegged ticks are found, groundhog ticks have been spotted in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. Squirrel ticks, which often don’t bite humans, have been found in all of those areas except for Manitoba, according to the PHAC.
Groundhog ticks look similar to blacklegged ticks. Luckily, groundhog ticks haven’t been associated with Lyme disease. (Photo via Getty Images)
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
What ticks carry it
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is spread by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. It’s a serious tick-borne illness that’s spread by the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the American dog tick, BC Centre for Disease Control states.
Signs and symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Early symptoms of RMSF include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle pain and loss of appetite. Moreover, a rash is a common sign of RMSF that typically develops two to four days after a fever begins. The CDC states the rash’s appearance may change over the course of the illness, oftentimes appearing late in the infection.
Where it’s most prevalent in Canada
Rocky Mountain wood ticks are most commonly found in southern Alberta and British Columbia. However, they’re also increasingly spotted in southwestern Saskatchewan. On the other hand, American dog ticks are established in parts of southcentral and southeastern Canada.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
