title: Population-based passive tick surveillance and detection of expanding foci of blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis and the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi in Ontario, Canada.
abstract: We identified ticks submitted by the public from 2008 through 2012 in Ontario, Canada, and tested blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Among the 18 species of ticks identified, I. scapularis, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes cookei and Amblyomma americanum represented 98.1% of the 14,369 ticks submitted. Rates of blacklegged tick submission per 100,000 population were highest in Ontario's Eastern region; D. variabilis in Central West and Eastern regions; I. cookei in Eastern and South West regions; and A. americanum had a scattered distribution. Rates of blacklegged tick submission per 100,000 population were highest from children (0-9 years old) and older adults (55-74 years old). In two health units in the Eastern region (i.e., Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District and Kingston-Frontenac and Lennox & Addington), the rate of submission for engorged and B. burgdorferi-positive blacklegged ticks was 47× higher than the rest of Ontario. Rate of spread for blacklegged ticks was relatively faster and across a larger geographic area along the northern shore of Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River, compared with slower spread from isolated populations along the northern shore of Lake Erie. The infection prevalence of B. burgdorferi in blacklegged ticks increased in Ontario over the study period from 8.4% in 2008 to 19.1% in 2012. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi-positive blacklegged ticks increased yearly during the surveillance period and, while increases were not uniform across all regions, increases were greatest in the Central West region, followed by Eastern and South West regions. The overall infection prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in blacklegged ticks was 0.3%. This study provides essential information on ticks of medical importance in Ontario, and identifies demographic and geographic areas for focused public education on the prevention of tick bites and tick-borne diseases.
authors.affiliation: Enteric, Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Communicable and Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Nelder
authors.affiliation: Enteric, Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Communicable and Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Field Studies, Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: L Robbin
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.affiliation: Analytic Services, Knowledge Services, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Badal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dhar
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario Laboratory - Toronto, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Samir N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Analytic Services, Knowledge Services, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Enteric, Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases, Communicable and Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario Laboratory - Toronto, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kristjanson
authors.affiliation: Analytic Services, Knowledge Services, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario Laboratory - Toronto, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ralevski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018884:Ixodes / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013987:Ticks / Q000145:classification / Q000382:microbiology*