By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
Officials with the Quebec Health Ministry are reporting an increase in Lyme disease cases through the first 10-plus months of 2019. From the beginning of the year through Nov. 5, health officials report 371 cases.
This compares with 304 in 2018 and 329 in 2017, in fact, 2017 was the year with the highest number of cases.
The most Lyme cases have been reported in the Eastern Townships, followed by the Montérégie, Montreal and the Outaouais region.
Dr. Geneviève Baron, the head of public health in the Eastern Townships and a member of the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network, told CBC that “each year there are new regions where the tick is now found, so we’re seeing the effect of climate change.”
“Their habitat is expanding, so they have a lot more hosts to feed on,” Baron said.
People shouldn’t panic if they see a tick, however, she said.
The numbers of Lyme disease cases in Canada has increased significantly in the past decade–144 cases in 2009 to 2025 in 2017.
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