Northward range expansion of Ixodes scapularis evident over a short timescale in Ontario, Canada.

ABSTRACT: The invasion of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis into Ontario, Canada poses a significant risk to public health because it is a vector for numerous pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Baseline field sampling in 2014 and 2015 detected I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi at sites across southern, eastern and central Ontario, including a hot spot in eastern Ontario. A "speed of spread" model for I. scapularis developed by Leighton and colleagues (2012) estimated that the tick's range was expanding northward at 46 km/year. In 2016, we revisited a subset of sites sampled in 2014 and 2015 to understand the changing nature of risk, and assess whether the rate of tick invasion is consistent with the speed of spread estimate. Ticks were

SUBMITTER: Clow KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5744917 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature