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

Author:

Clow, KM, Leighton, PA, Ogden, NH, Lindsay, LR, Michel, P, Pearl, DL, and Jardine, CM

Publication type:

Journal Article

Publication date:

2018-12

Journal/Series title:

PLoS One

Volume:

Issue:

URL:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29281675

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.