Canadians now have another tick-borne disease to worry

Black-legged ticks are spreading in many provinces in Canada, leading experts to warn Canadians about the second most common disease the arachnids can transmit to humans.

Canadians exploring the outdoors this summer are being warned about threats other than Lyme disease from tick bites as cases rise. While Lyme disease is the most common concern about ticks, health officials are increasingly worried about another tick-borne disease called anaplasmosis. Experts reported their concerns about the “rapidly rising” incidents of anaplasmosis, the second most common disease spread by the arachnids in Canada, in an article published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association

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Journal (CMAJ). Blacklegged ticks, which transmit Lyme disease and anaplasmosis through bites, have spread in many provinces, researchers noted. No statistics were provided on the number of anaplasmosis cases nationally in the report. In the CMAJ report, researchers described the case of a 79-year-old man from a rural area in eastern Ontario who had shown up at a community hospital this month with “fatigue, chills and generalized weakness that led to a fall.” He tested positive for anaplasmosis that resulted in acute myocarditis, but eventually recovered after treatment. “Given the cardiac complications caused by anaplasmosis, we planned a 14-day course of oral doxycycline, which would also treat any possible coinfection with Lyme disease,” researchers wrote. “The patient’s cognition normalized within 24 to 48 hours, and his blood counts, renal function, and liver (enzymes) gradually...

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