Lyme disease cases on rise in Quebec, with more towns in endemic zone

Quebec’s public health institute says the number of cases of Lyme disease is on the rise, with more cities each year considered to be in an endemic zone.

Public health doctor Genevieve Baron says the region’s high case load can be partially explained by its proximity to the United States. “With the milder climate, ticks have slowly established themselves in our region,” said Baron, who works at the health authority in the Eastern Townships. “There are areas that are perhaps more affected because ticks have been established there for longer, but which are also areas that are more suitable as habitat.”

To be considered an endemic zone, a municipality has to have declared at least three locally acquired human Lyme disease cases in the past five years, or had 23 black-legged ticks found on humans who submitted them for analysis. Under the new definition, the Quebec City and Chaudiere-Appalaches regions have been added to the list of endemic zones.

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