Quebec is the “year of high ticks” and the white-tailed deer boom is useless

Quebec’s public health is working to raise awareness and track the spread of the disease. The number of cases of Lyme disease surged from 125 in 2014 to 500 in 2019.

As part of that effort, public health has worked with a Quebec initiative to help Canadians quickly and easily identify mites they find on their bodies, pets, or in the wild.

Jade Savage, professor of entomology at Bishop’s University Etick.ca A few years ago, in collaboration with the Quebec Institute for Public Health (INSPQ) and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The site can be accessed online or from the app, allowing users to upload photos to identify local experts.

“You will receive an email with the identity of the tick, some information about its possible medical relevance, and some instructions,” she said.

These instructions include what to do if mites can cause the disease and connect people to local resources as needed.

Black-footed ticks moving north

Anyone can view the data, photos and location information collected by Etic online. This data also helps researchers track tick sightings.

Thousands of ticks have been identified since 2017, and the site is now more easily accessible nationwide in collaboration with state health agencies.

British Columbia will join the initiative this month and will be rolled out in Prince Edward Island in the coming weeks. Once the territory boarded the ship, Savage said the tool would be available anywhere in Canada, perhaps by the end of this year.

In Quebec, she said, black-footed mites have emerged along the Ontario border to Montreal and its surroundings, and to the northeastern city of Quebec and Sagney Lac Sanjan.

Witnesses do not necessarily indicate invasion, as mites can move over birds, Savage said.

Experts are now also keeping an eye on Asian Haemaphysalis longicornis and ticks. So far, Tsuyahadagomadara has not appeared in Canada, but lonely stars known to cause lean meat allergies have been witnessed 21 times in southern Quebec and Ontario.

“That’s not a surprise,” Savage said. “Usually we find adults, so we’re not worried that it’s still established, but we’re on the lookout.”

“Year of high ticks,” says entomologists

Overall, ticks are busy this spring, according to Savage.

“It started to get warmer early this year, but it didn’t last that long,” she said. “It’s the kind of temperature that Blackleg and some of the other species really like.”

All the data so far indicate a “year of high ticks,” she said.

Quebec’s public health has been monitoring black-footed mites for years, and it’s clear that populations are growing in the state, Savage said.

“This is clearly accompanied by an increase in the number of cases of Lyme disease, which has been increasing almost every year for the past decade,” Savage said, noting that sightings of mites on Montreal are not uncommon.

She said the range of black-footed mites has also increased over the last two decades.

According to public health, antibiotic prophylactic treatment can be prescribed for tick bites in some areas of Eastern Townships, Monteregie, Utaue and Mauritiers Centle du Quebec.

According to Quebec public health, the risk of developing Lyme disease is “very low” if the creature stays within 24 hours.

A status report released by INSPQ in April recommends the establishment of one or more referral centers to assist people with suspected Lyme disease.

Deer overpopulation may exacerbate the situation

According to experts, the boom in the white-tailed deer population in southern Quebec may have contributed to the problem by providing large amounts of food to mites.

The Ministry of Wildlife currently estimates this population to be 250,000 in Quebec. This does not include Anticosti Island. That’s twice as much as it was 30 years ago.

Half of the deer live in Monteregie, Eastern Townships and central Quebec. Eastern Townships and Monteregie are the areas with the highest Lyme disease.

A study in Maine, Connecticut, and New York revealed that a decrease in deer populations was associated with a decrease in ticks and Lyme disease, said Jean-Pierre Tranbray, a professor of biology at Laval University. Said that.

This is one of several reasons why the Quebec Wildlife Department is working to control deer populations.

Government biologist François Label recently said the state has increased the number of deer permits, allowing more hunters to target fawns and females.

According to MFFP, urban deer remains a challenge.

Hunters bag nearly 50,000 deer each year, but they don’t necessarily harvest deer that live in or near urban areas, Lebel said.

“When we are overcrowded with deer, we need to reduce the population, and unfortunately, to reduce it, it’s a deadly way,” Lebel said.

Fanny Peltier, a professor of biology at the University of Sherbrooke, said deer migration often killed them and sterilization was infeasible.

So, for example, Longueuil officials chose to eliminate 15 deer in Michelle Chartran Park The plan was canceled last year as protests broke out rather than trying to move them.

According to epidemiologist and professor Dr. Jean-Pierre Weilancourt, mites were virtually non-existent in Canada until the early 1990s, but climate change has invaded them and will continue to move north. There is a possibility. Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal.

“Urban mites are essentially new to us,” he said. “Many things need to be investigated and tested to see how to best manage this situation.”

For now, he’s best to check himself and his pets for ticks and get rid of them in a matter of hours, in order to significantly reduce the risk of transmitting the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Said. Dogs can be vaccinated against Lyme disease and parasites, but they can still carry mites home.

“Vigilance is the name of the game,” he said.