Ticks move north, to Canada

Kings County Record (New Brunswick): Public health officials in Saint John are undertaking a pilot research project to examine the link between a changing climate and the spread of black-legged ticks and Lyme disease.

The Saint John region is the only Atlantic Canadian site participating in the Public Health Agency of Canada project concerning the community adaptation element of the climate change infectious diseases adaptation initiative. The project, which has been awarded funding of $125,000, will proceed over the next 14-month period. …The key areas the project will include:

• improving the understanding of changing health risks associated with Lyme disease;
• developing appropriate surveillance and response systems for Lyme disease; and
• developing tools, methods and mechanisms to improve local capacity to adapt to the spread of Lyme disease.

…."There are indications that black-legged ticks and Lyme disease are spreading in eastern Canada, including New Brunswick," said Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, a zoonotic disease consultant at the Department of Health….

Using darkfield microscopy technique, this photomicrograph, magnified 400x, reveals the presence of spirochete, or “corkscrew-shaped” bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the pathogen responsible for causing Lyme disease. Centers for Disease Control