New tick-borne disease found in Canada; look out Burlington!

A new tick-dwelling bacterium related to the one that causes Lyme disease has been discovered in Canada and the northeastern United States.

Studies conducted by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Yale University have identified the bacterium, Borrelia miyamotoi, in deer ticks, the most common transmitter of Lyme disease, a flu-like illness that can lead to irregular heartbeat and nerve damage.

(A deer tick)

Deer ticks are found in southwestern and eastern Ontario, as well as parts of British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia. The insects are no larger than a dime.

A March 2011 Public Health Agency study of 309 Canadian deer ticks, published by the American Society for Microbiology, found Borrelia miyamotoi in six specimens. The Yale report, in the journal Emerging Infectious Disease last week, determined roughly two per cent of deer ticks in the northeastern U.S. and upper Midwest carry the bacterium.

Borrelia miyamotoi is thought to cause a disease characterized by high fever, which fades without medical treatment. To identify the effects of the new bacterium, Yale scientists compared symptoms in infected patients in Russia with Lyme disease patients in the U.S.

Public Health Ontario does not test for the disease, meaning it’s not reportable by Toronto Public Health.

As of July, only nine Lyme disease cases have been reported by Toronto Public Health this year. Most of the confirmed cases are travel-related, meaning the illness was acquired outside the city.

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends those at risk of tick-borne diseases cover exposed skin, and change and wash clothing frequently.