Abstract
Lyme disease is an emerging vector-borne zoonotic disease of increasing public health importance in Canada. As part of its mandate, the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CLyDRN) launched a pan-Canadian sentinel surveillance initiative, the Canadian Lyme Sentinel Network (CaLSeN), in 2019. To create a standardized, national sentinel surveillance network providing a real-time portrait of the evolving environmental risk of Lyme disease in each province. A multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach was used in the selection of sentinel regions. Within each sentinel region, a systematic drag sampling protocol was performed in selected sampling sites. Ticks collected during these active surveillance visits were identified to species, and Ixodes spp. ticks were tested for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti and Powassan virus. In 2019, a total of 567 Ixodes spp. ticks (I. scapularis [n=550]; I. pacificus [n=10]; and I. angustus [n=7]) were collected in seven provinces: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The highest mean tick densities (nymphs/100 m2) were found in sentinel regions of Lunenburg (0.45), Montréal (0.43) and Granby (0.38). Overall, the Borrelia burgdorferi prevalence in ticks was 25.2% (0%-45.0%). One I. angustus nymph from British Columbia was positive for Babesia microti, a first for the province. The deer tick lineage of Powassan virus was detected in one adult I. scapularis in Nova Scotia. CaLSeN provides the first coordinated national active surveillance initiative for tick-borne disease in Canada. Through multidisciplinary collaborations between experts in each province, the pilot year was successful in establishing a baseline for Lyme disease risk across the country, allowing future trends to be detected and studied.
Highlights
In Canada, Lyme disease is an emerging vector-borne zoonotic disease of increasing public health importance [1]
Ticks collected during these active surveillance visits were identified to species, and Ixodes spp. ticks were tested for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti and Powassan virus
The deer tick lineage of Powassan virus was detected in one adult I. scapularis in Nova Scotia
Summary
In Canada, Lyme disease is an emerging vector-borne zoonotic disease of increasing public health importance [1]. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is primarily transmitted to humans by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in central and eastern Canada and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) in British Columbia. Since Lyme disease became a nationally notifiable disease in 2009, the number of cases confirmed annually has risen from 144 to over 2,000 in 2017 [2,3]. Other tick-borne diseases across the country and in-depth risk information that is complementary to ongoing federal and provincial surveillance activities. Lyme disease is an emerging vector-borne zoonotic disease of increasing public health importance in Canada. As part of its mandate, the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CLyDRN) launched a pan-Canadian sentinel surveillance initiative, the Canadian Lyme Sentinel Network (CaLSeN), in 2019
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