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Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Canada Communicable Disease Report

Volume 26-16
15 August 2000

[Table of Contents]

  

IDENTIFICATION OF IXODES SCAPULARIS IN NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA

Ixodes scapularis, the blacklegged tick, has been recognized as an important vector of pathogens which are the etiological agents of diseases including Lyme disease, babesiosis, and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. In addition, deer tick virus, a flavivirus closely related to Powassan virus but of unknown human disease potential, has been isolated from this tick species. Studies in Canada have documented the endemic presence of the blacklegged tick in reproducing populations on the Long Point Peninsula on Lake Erie in southern Ontario as well as at Point Pelee National Park and Rondeau Provincial Park on the north shore of Lake Erie(1-3) (unpublished data: Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, Bureau of Microbiology, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Winnipeg). In addition, the blacklegged tick has been found in widely scattered locations in Canada including Atlantic Canada(4-10)(unpublished data: Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, Bureau of Microbiology Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Winnipeg).

In a previous report published in the Canada Communicable Disease Report (1999;25:81-83), it was mentioned that I. scapularis had been found in Newfoundland; however, an incorrect reference was cited(11). The purpose of this brief report is to clarify information concerning the occurrence of  I. scapularis in Newfoundland and to officially report the first documented occurrences of this tick in Newfoundland.

In October 1994, an I. scapularis tick removed from a dog was forwarded to the Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens Laboratory, LCDC, for analysis. This adult tick had been removed from a dog in the St. John's area of Newfoundland and had been presumptively identified at the Atlantic Veterinary College, Prince Edward Island. In July 2000, a second adult I. scapularis, removed from a dog in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, was submitted for testing. Neither dog had a history of recent travel off the Island. Both ticks were confirmed as I. scapularis and tested for the possible presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. No spirochetes could be detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time I. scapularis has been demonstrated in Newfoundland and extends our knowledge of the range of this important disease vector.

References

  1. Watson TG, Anderson RC. Ixodes scapularis Say on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from Long Point, Ontario. J Wildlife Dis 1976;12:66-71.

  2. Barker IK, Surgeoner GA, Artsob H et al. Distribution of the Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) and isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi in Ontario. Canada J Med Entomol 1992;29:1011-22.

  3. Morshed MG, Scott JD, Banerjee SN et al. First isolation of Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, from blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, collected at Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario. CCDR 2000;26:42-44.

  4. MacNeil DR. Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini, identified in Nova Scotia. CDWR 1990;16:69.

  5. Bell CR, Specht HB, Coombs BA. The search for Ixodes dammini and Borrelia burgdorferi in Nova Scotia. Can J Infect Dis 1992;3:224-30.

  6. Morshed MG, Scott JD, Banerjee SN et al. First isolation of Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, from blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, removed from a bird in Nova Scotia, Canada. CCDR 1999;25:153-55.

  7. Cawthorne RJ, Horney BS, Maloney R. Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini, (the northern deer tick), identified in Prince Edward Island. CDWR 1989;15:255.

  8. Cawthorne RJ, Horney BS, Maloney R. Lyme disease vector, Ixodes dammini (the northern deer tick) identified in Prince Edward Island. Can Vet J 1990;31:220.

  9. Artsob H, Garvie M, Cawthorn RJ et al. Isolation of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, from Ixodes dammini (Acari: Ixodidae) collected on Prince Edward Island, Canada. J Med Entomol 1992;29:1063-66.

  10. Anon. A case of Lyme disease in New Brunswick. New Brunswick Epidemiological Report 1997;8:13.

  11. Lindsay R, Artsob H, Galloway T et al. Vector of Lyme borreliosis, Ixodes scapularis, identified in Saskatchewan. CCDR 1999;25:81-83.

Source: H Artsob, PhD, Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, Bureau of Microbiology, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Winnipeg, Manitoba; R Maloney, RT, G Conboy, DVM, PhD, B Horney, DVM, PhD, Dip AVCP, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI.

 

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