Zoonosis

Training Ambassadors in the Prevention and Surveillance of Lyme Disease in Québec

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…

Identification guide for ticks found in Québec

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).

Identification guide for ticks found in Québec

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).

Portrait of zoonoses prioritized by Quebec’s observatory on zoonoses and climate change adaptation in 2015

  • In Québec, like elsewhere in the world, diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans (zoonoses), which account for about 60% of diseases communicable to humans, are currently emerging. The complex dynamics of zoonoses can be affected by climate change. In response to this complexity, the Observatoire initiated a zoonosis prioritization approach in 2015 in the context of climate change. This approach allowed it to develop a portrait of zoonoses that will serve as the basis for documenting their evolving situations in Québec, in an effort to anticipate potential issues of concern. Documenting the zoonoses also allowed it to better identify the challenges and knowledge gaps specific to the prioritized zoonoses, thereby serving as a tool to direct and optimize zoonosis research, surveillance, prevention and control activities. Twelve zoonoses were prioritized: food-borne botulism in Nunavik, campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, eastern equine encephalitis, verotoxige…

Report on Surveillance of the West Nile Virus and Other Arboviruses in Québec: 2016 Season

In 2016, the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) asked the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to add the eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and the California serogroup viruses (CSGV) to the West Nile virus (WNV) integrated surveillance. The MSSS also requested surveillance of the Aedes albopictus mosquito.

During 2016, 30 cases of WNV infection and five cases of encephalitis linked to CSGV were reported to the public health service. All of the cases were acquired in Québec.

Therefore, 53 entomological stations were set up in the province of Québec: three specifically to collect EEEV vectors, nine for Aedes albopictus surveillance, and 41 for combined WNV and CSGV surveillance. In all, 935 mosquito pools were tested for WNV, 101 for EEEV, and 91 for CSGV. Among them, 28 (3%), 4 (4%) and 2 (2%), respectively, tested positive for these viruses. No Aedes albopictus mosqui…

Report on Surveillance for Lyme Disease: 2016

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.

Risk Assessment: Emergence and Vector-borne Transmission of Zika Virus in Québec

  • Zika virus emerged in the Americas in 2015 and has since expanded its geographical range significantly. Currently, the virus is transmitted locally in 35 countries of the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

  • Zika virus infection is benign: 70 to 80% of patients have no symptoms, whereas 20% have a fever and rash accompanied by arthralgia and myalgia, conjunctivitis, headache, retro-orbital pain and fatigue.

  • Zika virus infection can cause neurological complications, including Guillain-Barré syndrome.

  • Zika virus infection during pregnancy causes congenital defects, including newborn microcephaly.

  • Zika virus infection is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes: in America, Ae. aegypti is the primary vector and Ae. albopictus is a potential vector. These vectors are currently absent in Québec.

  • Zika virus needs a…

Surveillance of Lyme disease and other diseases transmitted by the Ixodes scapularis tick: 2014

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.

Integrated West Nile Virus Surveillance

A new government intervention plan was adopted in early 2013 to protect public health against West Nile virus (WNV) infection, since WNV infection epidemiological activity had resumed in Québec in 2011 and 2012. This new plan establishes the strategy to be pursued for the years 2013 to 2015. The primary objective of the strategy adopted by public health authorities is to prevent the complications and human mortality related to WNV infection.

Interventions are planned to combat the WNV vector, namely mosquitoes. The intervention plan also includes communication activities aimed at the general public and health care and social services network professionals. An integrated surveillance program was set up in 2013 to continue monitoring the situation. This program allows us to characterize WNV activity in Québec in humans and animals.

This analysis plan was prepared by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec's Groupe d'experts scientifiques sur le VNO [WNV…

West Nile Virus Infection Surveillance in Québec: 2013 Season

In 2013, integrated surveillance of West Nile virus (WNV) in Québec included epidemiological surveillance of human cases, entomological surveillance of mosquitoes and surveillance of animals, including wild birds and domestic animals (agricultural).

During this season, 30 human cases of WNV infection were acquired in Québec, including 29 confirmed cases and one probable case. Of these, 23 (77%) were classed as WNV neuroinvasive cases and 22 were hospitalized, including eight people who were admitted to intensive care and one person who died of meningitis caused by WNV.

The average age of cases was 59 years and two thirds of the cases were men (20/30). More than 70% of the human cases occurred in the Montérégie, Montréal and Laval regions. Of the reported animals that were confirmed positive, nearly 66% were found in these same regions. A total of 2,530 mosquito pools were tested for WNV in 2013, and 60 pools (2.4%) tested positive.

In…