Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of reported Lyme disease cases: Data from the Canadian Lyme disease enhanced surveillance system.

Lyme disease cases reported in seven Canadian provinces from 2009 to 2019 through the Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance System are described herein by demographic, geography, time and season. The proportion of males was greater than females. Bimodal peaks in incidence were observed in children and older adults (≥60 years of age) for all clinical signs except cardiac manifestations, which were more evenly distributed across age groups.

Range Expansion of and in Ontario, Canada, from 2017 to 2019.

Range expansion of the vector tick species, , has been detected in Ontario over the last two decades. This has led to elevated risk of exposure to , the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Previous research using passive surveillance data suggests that populations establish before the establishment of transmission cycles, with a delay of ∼5 years.

Surveillance for Lyme disease in Canada, 2009-2019.

Background: Lyme disease (LD) is a multisystem infection that can affect the skin, heart, joints and nervous system. In Canada, the incidence of LD cases has increased over the past decade making this a disease of public health concern. The objective of this study is to summarize the epidemiology of LD cases reported in Canada from 2009 through 2019.

Surveillance for and ticks and their associated pathogens in Canada, 2019.

Background: The primary vectors of the agent of Lyme disease in Canada are and ticks. Surveillance for ticks and the pathogens they can transmit can inform local tick-borne disease risk and guide public health interventions. The objective of this article is to characterize passive and active surveillance of the main Lyme disease tick vectors in Canada in 2019 and the tick-borne pathogens they carry.

Risk of transfusion-transmitted Babesia microti in Canada.

Background: Babesia microti has gained a foothold in Canada as tick vectors become established in broader geographic areas. B. microti infection is associated with mild or no symptoms in healthy individuals but is transfusion-transmissible and can be fatal in immunocompromised individuals.

A multi-year assessment of blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) population establishment and Lyme disease risk areas in Ottawa, Canada, 2017-2019.

Canadians face an emerging threat of Lyme disease due to the northward expansion of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. We evaluated the degree of I. scapularis population establishment and Borrelia burgdorferi occurrence in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from 2017-2019 using active surveillance at 28 sites.

Lyme disease in children: Data from the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program.

Background: Lyme disease (LD) is an infectious disease that is emerging in eastern and central Canada associated with the spread of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis. National surveillance shows that children are an at-risk age group.

Objectives: To study the epidemiology of LD in Canadian children using the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) to better understand exposure history, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of paediatric LD cases in Canada.

Landscape determinants of density of blacklegged ticks, vectors of Lyme disease, at the northern edge of their distribution in Canada.

In eastern North America, including Canada, Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and transmitted to humans by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. The last decade has seen a growing incidence of Lyme disease in Canada, following the northward range expansion of I. scapularis tick populations from endemic areas in eastern United States.

Detection of municipalities at-risk of Lyme disease using passive surveillance of Ixodes scapularis as an early signal: A province-specific indicator in Canada.

Lyme disease, the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in North America, is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, which is transmitted by Ixodes scapularis in eastern Canada and Ixodes pacificus in western Canada. Recently, the northward range expansion of I. scapularis ticks, in south-eastern Canada, has resulted in a dramatic increase in the incidence of human Lyme disease.

Evidence for increasing densities and geographic ranges of tick species of public health significance other than Ixodes scapularis in Québec, Canada.

Climate change is driving emergence and establishment of Ixodes scapularis, the main vector of Lyme disease in Québec, Canada. As for the black-legged tick, I. scapularis Say, global warming may also favor northward expansion of other species of medically important ticks.

Passive Tick Surveillance Provides an Accurate Early Signal of Emerging Lyme Disease Risk and Human Cases in Southern Canada.

Lyme disease is an emerging public health threat in Canada. In this context, rapid detection of new risk areas is essential for timely application of prevention and control measures. In Canada, information on Lyme disease risk is collected through three surveillance activities: active tick surveillance, passive tick surveillance, and reported human cases.

A Risk Model for the Lyme Disease Vector Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.

Lyme disease is emerging in Canada due to geographic range expansion of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis Say. Recent areas of emergence include parts of the southeastern Canadian Prairie region. We developed a map of potential risk areas for future I.

Exposure and preventive behaviours toward ticks and Lyme disease in Canada: Results from a first national survey.

Lyme disease (LD) risk is increasing in Canada. In 2014, the government of Canada launched a national communication campaign to raise awareness and promote the adoption of individual preventive behaviours toward ticks and LD. The objectives of this study were to evaluate and compare the adoption of LD preventive behaviours and the exposure to tick bites of Canadians in the five main targeted regions (British Columbia, Prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces).

Evidence of rapid changes in Lyme disease awareness in Canada.

Lyme disease (LD) is emerging in Canada. A key preventive strategy is promoting the adoption by the general public of personal preventive behaviors regarding tick bites. The aim of this study was to measure the changes in public awareness toward ticks and LD before and after the launch of a national communication campaign in Canada using data from two surveys conducted in March and December 2014.

The increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada.

There is an increasing risk of Lyme disease in Canada due to range expansion of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis. The objectives of this article are to i) raise public awareness with the help of veterinarians on the emerging and expanding risk of Lyme disease across Canada, ii) review the key clinical features of Lyme disease in dogs, and iii) provide recommendations for veterinarians on the management of Lyme disease in dogs.

Climate change and habitat fragmentation drive the occurrence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, at the northeastern limit of its distribution.

Lyme borreliosis is rapidly emerging in Canada, and climate change is likely a key driver of the northern spread of the disease in North America. We used field and modeling approaches to predict the risk of occurrence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria causing Lyme disease in North America. We combined climatic and landscape variables to model the current and future (2050) potential distribution of the black-legged tick and the white-footed mouse at the northeastern range limit of Lyme disease and estimated a risk index for B.

Passive surveillance for I. scapularis ticks: enhanced analysis for early detection of emerging Lyme disease risk.

Lyme disease (LD) is emerging in Canada because of the northward expansion of the geographic range of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis (Say). Early detection of emerging areas of LD risk is critical to public health responses, but the methods to do so on a local scale are lacking. Passive tick surveillance has operated in Canada since 1990 but this method lacks specificity for identifying areas where tick populations are established because of dispersion of ticks from established LD risk areas by migratory birds.