By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept

News Junction

Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • World News
    World NewsShow More
    Trump issues ‘Golden Dome’ promise — RT World News
    Trump issues ‘Golden Dome’ promise — RT World News
    May 21, 2025
    Japan’s exports to the U.S. shrink for the first time this year
    Japan’s exports to the U.S. shrink for the first time this year
    May 21, 2025
    Trump’s tariffs creating ‘tensions’ among G7 ahead of summit: Champagne
    Trump’s tariffs creating ‘tensions’ among G7 ahead of summit: Champagne
    May 21, 2025
    Indian author Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize with short story collection
    Indian author Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize with short story collection
    May 21, 2025
    I’m an oncologist. Here’s my biggest piece of advice for Biden right now.
    I’m an oncologist. Here’s my biggest piece of advice for Biden right now.
    May 21, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    Ukraine blows up bridges to consolidate its positions in Russia
    August 18, 2024
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    Commentary: AI phones from Google and Apple will erode trust in everything
    August 18, 2024
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    The most famous Indian Dishes – Insights Success
    August 18, 2024
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    Life on the road as a female long rides cyclist
    August 18, 2024
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    UK inflation rises to 2.2%
    August 18, 2024
  • Cryptocurrency
    CryptocurrencyShow More
    SEC Charges Unicoin, Top Executives With 0M ‘Massive Securities Fraud’
    SEC Charges Unicoin, Top Executives With $100M ‘Massive Securities Fraud’
    May 21, 2025
    Bitcoin open interest hits record high as bulls stampede toward new BTC price highs
    Bitcoin open interest hits record high as bulls stampede toward new BTC price highs
    May 21, 2025
    The crypto market values chains more than standalone applications
    The crypto market values chains more than standalone applications
    May 21, 2025
    Justin Sun to attend Trump’s dinner with memecoin backers
    Justin Sun to attend Trump’s dinner with memecoin backers
    May 21, 2025
    XRP to ,000? Analyst forecast explained
    XRP to $1,000? Analyst forecast explained
    May 21, 2025
  • Technology
    TechnologyShow More
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    How to Improve Your Spotify Recommendations
    August 18, 2024
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    X says it’s closing operations in Brazil
    August 18, 2024
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    Supermoon set to rise: Top tips for amateur photographers | Science & Tech News
    August 18, 2024
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    Scientists Want to See Videos of Your Cat for a New Study
    August 18, 2024
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it
    August 18, 2024
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Reading: Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada
Share
Font ResizerAa

News Junction

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Trend
  • Entertainment
Search
  • Recent Headlines in Entertainment, World News, and Cryptocurrency – NewsJunction
  • World News
  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports News
  • People
  • Trend
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
News Junction > Blog > Technology > Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada
Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada
Technology

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that’s on the rise in Canada

Published June 24, 2024
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

Contents
Symptoms and transmission How does anaplasmosis compare to Lyme disease? Ontario is now tracking three additional tick-borne illnessesHow to prevent anaplasmosisInsect-borne infections on the rise thanks to climate change

Tick experts are warning Canadians to be on the lookout for symptoms of a tick-borne disease whose case counts have been steadily increasing over the past 15 years.

Anaplasmosis is an infection contracted by humans and animals caused by the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria and spread by ticks. 

In the early 2000s, provinces and territories began reporting a handful of human cases each year, but experts are now warning that they’re seeing up to 500 cases a year in the regions where anaplasma-carrying ticks live, although not all of those are necessarily full-blown clinical cases of the infection.

“It is kind of the new kid on the block,” said Heather Coatsworth, a research scientist for the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in an interview with Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC’s The Dose. 

Ticks carrying anaplasmosis are primarily found in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario, though cases have been reported in Manitoba and Alberta. 

Symptoms and transmission 

Anaplasmosis is a disease caused by a bacterium that infects white blood cells in humans and animals. 

Early symptoms include fever, chills, headache and fatigue. If left untreated, longer-term symptoms include respiratory failure, anemia, liver disease and death in severe cases. 

“That’s primarily with immunocompromised people, as well as children and elderly,” Coatsworth said. 

It takes about 18 hours for a tick to infect you with the anaplasma bacteria, says Heather Coatsworth, chief field studies research scientist at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory. (Public Health Agency of Canada)

It takes roughly 18 hours of feeding for a tick to infect the host with the bacteria.

“Since it’s a blood-borne disease, it can also be transmitted by blood transfusion [and] solid organ donation,” said Coatsworth. 

“And there is the hypothesis that it can be transmitted from mother to baby as well.”

The first case of anaplasmosis in a Canadian was reported in 2009. 

How does anaplasmosis compare to Lyme disease? 

Anaplasmosis shares common early symptoms with Lyme disease, including flu-like symptoms. 

In fact, the same ticks that carry Lyme disease — typically black-legged and Western black-legged ticks — spread anaplasmosis by biting humans. 

At times, researchers have encountered ticks co-infected with Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. 

One major distinction between the symptoms of the two diseases is that anaplasmosis lacks the tell-tale bull’s eye rash that presents at the bite site of a tick carrying Lyme disease, according to Coatsworth. 

However, the same antibiotic — doxycycline — can be used to treat both tick-borne illnesses. 

Once treated for anaplasmosis, patients typically recover without post-treatment symptoms, such as arthritis, seen in some Lyme disease patients.

Lyme disease is still more common than anaplasmosis at this time, according to Coatsworth, with approximately 2,500 human cases in 2023, according to Health Canada. 

Exact nation-wide statistics for anaplasmosis are currently unavailable, because it only became a nationally notifiable disease in April 2024, meaning cases now have to be reported to public health authorities.

WATCH | Ontario is now tracking three additional tick-borne illnesses:

Ontario is now tracking three additional tick-borne illnesses

A warming climate means a greater tick population and more tick-borne illnesses in Canada. Ontario already tracks cases of lyme disease, but starting now, it will also track three other tick-borne illnesses, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis and powassan virus disease.

How to prevent anaplasmosis

There’s no vaccine that prevents the transmission of anaplasmosis so avoiding bites is the best way to prevent any tick-borne disease. 

“If you stop yourself from getting bitten by a tick or deal with a tick infection quickly and get the tick off, that’s going to help for anaplasmosis, Lyme disease … and any of the not fun diseases ticks transmit,” said Vett Lloyd, a biology professor at Mount Allison University who runs a tick lab.

Bug sprays such as DEET that specifically target ticks — rather than just mosquitos — are often most effective at preventing bites, Lloyd says. 

Avoiding skin contact with grassy areas doing regular tick checks when in forested areas and while gardening or spending time in long grass can also reduce the risk.

“You’re looking for something that looks like a freckle, but unlike a freckle, [ticks have] legs,” said Lloyd.

If you do get bitten, tweezers are useful for removing ticks, Lloyd said. She recommends holding on to the tick in case it needs to be tested later. 

A smiling woman with glasses and short grey hair, wearing a lab coat, sits next to a microscope.
When checking for ticks, ‘you’re looking for something that looks like a freckle,’ says Vett Lloyd, professor of biology at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B. (Submitted by Vett Lloyd)

Tucking socks over pants, wearing long sleeves and spraying clothes with the insecticide permethrin the night before going outside can help prevent tick bites, Coatsworth said. 

Online tools such as eTick can help identify different tick species and high-risk areas.

WATCH | Insect-borne infections on the rise thanks to climate change:

Insect-borne infections on the rise thanks to climate change

Diseases carried by insects that infect humans, like Lyme disease and West Nile virus, are on the rise in Canada. The shorter, less severe winters due to climate change have allowed those insects to expand their range.

If you have been bitten, it’s impotant to keep an eye out for the sudden onset of flu-like symptoms, Coatsworth said. 

“If you know you’ve been bitten by a tick, and then you’re suddenly getting flu-like symptoms a few days later, that’s a clue that you need to seek medical help sooner rather than later,” she said. 

Still, Lloyd says Canadians shouldn’t let the fear of ticks prevent them from enjoying nature summer. 

“Get outside, enjoy it and then do tick checks afterwards,” she said. 

#Anaplasmosis #tickborne #disease #rise #Canada

TAGGED:AnaplasmosisanemiaAntibioticarthritisbiologyblood-transfusionCanadaCanadiancasesCBC-RadioclimateClimate ChangeclinicaldiseasediseasesdoxycyclineelderlyfearFeverfluforestedHeadachehealthhigh-riskillnessesInfectionInterviewliverLyme-diseaseMedicalMicrobiologyNileorgan-donationpatientspublicpublic healthreportingrespiratoryrespiratory-failurerisesitespeciesspreadsymptomstickborneTrackingtreatmentvaccineviruswarningWesternWHO
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article Ukrainian Creative High-Fashion Brands : Angel for Fashion Ukrainian Creative High-Fashion Brands : Angel for Fashion
Next Article 2024 NBA Mock Draft 10.0: Who’s No. 1? Full two-round predictions for draft week 2024 NBA Mock Draft 10.0: Who’s No. 1? Full two-round predictions for draft week
- Advertisement -

Latest Post

Trump issues ‘Golden Dome’ promise — RT World News
Trump issues ‘Golden Dome’ promise — RT World News
World News
SEC Charges Unicoin, Top Executives With 0M ‘Massive Securities Fraud’
SEC Charges Unicoin, Top Executives With $100M ‘Massive Securities Fraud’
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin open interest hits record high as bulls stampede toward new BTC price highs
Bitcoin open interest hits record high as bulls stampede toward new BTC price highs
Cryptocurrency
Japan’s exports to the U.S. shrink for the first time this year
Japan’s exports to the U.S. shrink for the first time this year
World News
The crypto market values chains more than standalone applications
The crypto market values chains more than standalone applications
Cryptocurrency
Trump’s tariffs creating ‘tensions’ among G7 ahead of summit: Champagne
Trump’s tariffs creating ‘tensions’ among G7 ahead of summit: Champagne
World News
- Advertisement -

You Might Also Like

Wattpad, a storytelling platform, conducts another layoff round
Technology

Wattpad, a storytelling platform, conducts another layoff round

January 31, 2024
YouTube Music is adding a TikTok-style ‘Samples’ short-form video feed
Technology

YouTube Music is adding a TikTok-style ‘Samples’ short-form video feed

August 16, 2023
VPR’s Lala Kent Details “Terrifying” Second Pregnancy Health Scare
Entertainment

VPR’s Lala Kent Details “Terrifying” Second Pregnancy Health Scare

August 2, 2024
New mothers breastfeed in front of endangered orangutan to try to show her how to care for baby | Climate News
World News

New mothers breastfeed in front of endangered orangutan to try to show her how to care for baby | Climate News

August 13, 2024

About Us

NEWS JUNCTION (NewsJunction.xyz) Your trusted destination for global news. Stay informed with our timely and accurate reporting on diverse topics, including politics, technology, science, entertainment, sports, and more. Count on us for unbiased and reliable updates at your fingertips.

Quick Link

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Top Categories

  • World News
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Sports News
  • Trend
  • People

Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

    © 2023 News Junction.
    • Blog
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Username or Email Address
    Password

    Lost your password?