Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/ot...and-eastern-ontario/ar-BB1nAA5Q?ocid=00000000
Anaplasmosis: the lesser-known tick-borne disease on the rise in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
Story by Elizabeth Payne
• 3d • 4 min read
At a time when tick populations are increasing, the Ottawa area is becoming a hotspot for one of the lesser-known illnesses spread by black-legged ticks...
... Anaplasmosis was considered rare in the province until fairly recently. Now, according to Public Health Ontario, it is becoming more common in Eastern Ontario, including in Ottawa. The Kingston area has the highest rates in the province, followed by Ottawa and the Leeds-Grenville and Lanark district.
Between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, 14 Ottawa residents had confirmed or probable anaplasmosis infection, according to Ottawa Public Health. Seven of the people infected reported that they were exposed to the tick in Ottawa. The other half reported exposure in surrounding areas, including Perth. Those 14 cases were among 40 cases reported throughout 2023 across Ontario, according to Public Health Ontario. All of the cases reported in Ontario were in Eastern Ontario.
There were no cases of anaplasmosis reported in Ottawa during the first three months of the year...
...Between January and March of this year, there were 60 cases of Lyme disease reported in Ontario, a rate of 3.8 per million of population. That is significantly higher than the five-year average for Ontario, which is 43, for the same time of year, a rate of 2.9 per one million population, according to Public Health Ontario...
...Babesiosis, also transmitted by black-legged ticks, is less common in Ontario than anaplasmosis. In 2023, there were 15 reported cases, a total of four were reported in the Kingston and Hastings area, but there were none reported in or closer to Ottawa....
... Powassan virus, which was first discovered in Ontario in 1958, can cause encephalitis, leading to severe illness and death. The virus, for which there is no treatment, remains rare, although there have been reports of case counts increasing in the North Eastern U.S. and elsewhere. There have been about 25 cases reported in Canada since it was identified.
In 2021, Ottawa’s MaryAnn Harris developed encephalitis after been bitten by a tick in Ottawa that transmitted Powassan virus. On Monday, her husband , fantasy writer Charles de Lint, announced that Harris had died. “She fought long and hard to try to beat the awful state in which the Powassan virus had left her but in the end she just didn’t have the strength to carry on any longer.”...
Anaplasmosis: the lesser-known tick-borne disease on the rise in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
Story by Elizabeth Payne
• 3d • 4 min read
At a time when tick populations are increasing, the Ottawa area is becoming a hotspot for one of the lesser-known illnesses spread by black-legged ticks...
... Anaplasmosis was considered rare in the province until fairly recently. Now, according to Public Health Ontario, it is becoming more common in Eastern Ontario, including in Ottawa. The Kingston area has the highest rates in the province, followed by Ottawa and the Leeds-Grenville and Lanark district.
Between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, 14 Ottawa residents had confirmed or probable anaplasmosis infection, according to Ottawa Public Health. Seven of the people infected reported that they were exposed to the tick in Ottawa. The other half reported exposure in surrounding areas, including Perth. Those 14 cases were among 40 cases reported throughout 2023 across Ontario, according to Public Health Ontario. All of the cases reported in Ontario were in Eastern Ontario.
There were no cases of anaplasmosis reported in Ottawa during the first three months of the year...
...Between January and March of this year, there were 60 cases of Lyme disease reported in Ontario, a rate of 3.8 per million of population. That is significantly higher than the five-year average for Ontario, which is 43, for the same time of year, a rate of 2.9 per one million population, according to Public Health Ontario...
...Babesiosis, also transmitted by black-legged ticks, is less common in Ontario than anaplasmosis. In 2023, there were 15 reported cases, a total of four were reported in the Kingston and Hastings area, but there were none reported in or closer to Ottawa....
... Powassan virus, which was first discovered in Ontario in 1958, can cause encephalitis, leading to severe illness and death. The virus, for which there is no treatment, remains rare, although there have been reports of case counts increasing in the North Eastern U.S. and elsewhere. There have been about 25 cases reported in Canada since it was identified.
In 2021, Ottawa’s MaryAnn Harris developed encephalitis after been bitten by a tick in Ottawa that transmitted Powassan virus. On Monday, her husband , fantasy writer Charles de Lint, announced that Harris had died. “She fought long and hard to try to beat the awful state in which the Powassan virus had left her but in the end she just didn’t have the strength to carry on any longer.”...