Lyme disease

The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) conducted a training project with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) from January to December 2019 in the regions where Lyme disease (LD) is a growing public health issue. The objective was to train Lyme disease prevention ambassadors through a cascade training approach (training trainers).

Once trained, the members of this new regional network had to lead activities to raise LD awareness among their colleagues and clients and independently carry out tick sampling activities in their respective communities. In total, 18 ambassadors were trained and 28 awareness-raising activities were organized, directly reaching at least 1,860 people in seven different public health units. During this period, 28 sampling activities were completed, and 36 ticks were collected (through active and passive surveillance). The participants’ evaluation of the project was very positive. The project very clearly fulfil…

The Identification guide for ticks found in Québec was developed for physicians, veterinarians and other health professionals to inform them about the main types of ticks found in Québec and to help them identify specimens brought to them by their patients.

There are about 900 tick species worldwide. Ticks are Acari that parasitize most vertebrates, including humans, by feeding on their blood.

In Québec, 12 tick species have been identified so far. Some tick species are reservoirs and vectors of viruses, bacteria and parasites: they are the second leading vector of human disease, after the mosquito. The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the tick that transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent responsible for Lyme disease (in french).

The Identification guide for ticks found in Québec was developed for physicians, veterinarians and other health professionals to inform them about the main types of ticks found in Québec and to help them identify specimens brought to them by their patients.

There are about 900 tick species worldwide. Ticks are Acari that parasitize most vertebrates, including humans, by feeding on their blood.

In Québec, 12 tick species have been identified so far. Some tick species are reservoirs and vectors of viruses, bacteria and parasites: they are the second leading vector of human disease, after the mosquito. The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the tick that transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent responsible for Lyme disease (in french).

In 2016, 174 cases of Lyme disease were reported to public health authorities, including 124 cases that were acquired in Québec.

The Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec received 2 158 Ixodes scapularis ticks from Québec, primarily from the regions of Estrie, Mauricie et Centre-du-Québec, Montréal, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Montérégie and the Capitale-Nationale. More than 17% of these ticks were positive for Borrelia burgdorferi.

Active surveillance carried out in 2016 made it possible to collect 1 036 Ixodes scapularis ticks of which 82 were positive for Borrelia burgdorferi: they were spread over 22 sites mostly located in Montérégie. Active surveillance identified four new endemic municipalities for Lyme disease in Estrie, Mauricie et Centre-du-Québec, Outaouais and Montérégie.

In 2014, 127 cases of Lyme disease were reported to public health authorities, including 66 cases that were acquired in Québec.

During that same year, the Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec received 2,549 Ixodes scapularis ticks from Québec, primarily from the Montérégie, Montréal, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, Lanaudière, Laurentides and Estrie regions.

Lastly, active surveillance in 2014 identified three new endemic sites for Lyme disease, all in Montérégie.