When I was scanning tick related headlines the other day, I ran across story that made me growl. It was this story about alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) which, in the last several years, has become something of a media darling in Canada. AGS is a rare red meat allergy that is sometimes (read: rarely) caused by the bite of a lone star tick, and has the potential to be quite severe. In the case highlighted in the linked article, it was fatal. So, yikes!
As its Latin and English names both suggest, this tick has a strong preference for feeding on rabbits and snowshoe hares. A very strong preference. Individual animals have been found infested with thousands -- and in some cases tens of thousands -- of ticks attached to them. No word on who got to count all those ticks.
I was scrolling through the list of ticks catalogued on this site the other day and noticed that a few are missing that deserve to be mentioned. Ixodes spinipalpis (no common name), for instance. The fact that this tick has no common name gives away something important about it: it's not very well known.
I imagine it's frustrating to be a public health professional familiar with the actions people can take to avoid Lyme disease and yet finding yourself staring at data telling you that a significant number of Canadians aren't adopting those preventative behaviours.
Early this year, I wrote a post talking about a newly identified tick species that may or may not be making its home in British Columbia. Since then, a collaborative study has been published by researchers in Ontario and Alberta that attempts to map out the current locations of Dermacentor similis ticks in Western Canada and the United States as well as identifying where they are likely to spread in the foreseeable future.
After many years of research, development, clinical trials, and much more controversy than seems absolutely necessary, it appears as though a human Lyme disease vaccine may finally be nearing approval.
When it comes to tracking blacklegged ticks and preventing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, public health professionals across Canada rely on a combination of active and passive tick surveillance. Both methods of surveillance play important roles in understanding where ticks are located and whether they’re carrying pathogens that pose a threat to people, pets and/or wild animal populations.
A recent case study published in the journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease caught my eye the other day largely because it highlights the challenges Canadian doctors can face in trying to diagnose tick-borne illnesses.
A few days ago, I found myself reading an article advising gardeners on which plants they could grow to repel ticks. Basil, lavender, mint, rosemary, and thyme all got the nod. So, basically, plant an herb garden. I'll confess that my first thought was, repel them where?
Those of you who live in the British Columbia Interior are likely already familiar with Rocky Mountain wood ticks (Dermacentor andersoni). They are the single most common tick species in the dry grassland ecosystems of the southern interior region and there are springs when the adults are so ubiquitous that recreating in the great outdoors is often followed by a de-ticking session, especially if Fido recreated with you.