If You Go Out In The Woods Today

"We can now count and track when these illnesses are occurring, map it for a risk map and be able to inform the public when these diseases become more prevalent."

"It's absolutely expected that we'll have greater incidence over the next several years because this is a known wave of infections that we've seen migrate up the coastline of northeast North America and anticipate them affecting Ontarians."

"It is simply from the ability of these ticks, that are now able to survive our winters and stay and breed over their two-year life cycle."

"We've seen them migrate from the mid-eastern United States and now that wave of migration we've seen go through Connecticut and New York and these diseases are following in the footsteps of Lyme disease and we anticipate that we'll have more cases of these."

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore 

Three types of tick-borne illness in addition to the well-known Lyme disease threat have been identified in Ontario, with an expected growth in the incidence of these diseases in the near future. Health-care providers, in view of the seriousness of the anticipated dangers to people's health, are now expected to recognize a new regulation requiring them to report cases of anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus to their local medical officers of health.

So far, anecdotal reports and publications addressing the issue of the three illnesses being discovered in recent years in Ontario represent the need to begin their formal tracking. There has been a rise over the past twenty years in the incidence of Lyme disease, now that ticks, and in particular black-legged ticks are capable of surviving Ontario's still-harsh winters. Waves of anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus have been seen in the United States, giving Ontario's chief medical officer of health ample reason to expect the same to begin occurring in the province.

Bacteria able to enter the human bloodstream through a tick bite causes anaplasmosis which causes fever and chills, but is also able to suppress bone marrow and the creation of white and red blood cells, as well as platelets. Ticks transmit intracellular parasites with babesiosis, which invade a person's red blood cells and burst them so that people can present with anemia, fever and chills, similar to malaria.

 

Lincoln Byers had the first recorded case of Powassan virus in 1958. He died of complications from the virus at the age of five. (Submitted by Sue Cossar)

With Powassan virus, most infections are asymptomatic, yet some people can experience fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, weakness or aches and pains. At a later date following an acute phase and a period of remission, an infected person may become confused, have loss of coordination, difficulty speaking, paralysis, seizures or coma. Lincoln Byers was five years old when he died of complications from what is now known as Powassan virus, a tick-borne illness which can lead to infection of the brain (encephalitis) or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) in severe cases.

No specific treatment exists for Powassan virus disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control; patients' symptoms are managed, instead. Anaplasmosis and babesiosis can be treated with antibiotics for cases that are symptomatic. 

"Approximately 50 per cent of people who survive severe disease have long-term health problems, such as recurring headaches, loss of muscle mass and strength, and memory problems."

Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Michelle Murti

Photo provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows a black-legged tick, which is also known as a deer tick. (AP via CDC/The Canadian Press)