Tick surveillance in Canada: Infographic 2022

Highlights from the 2022 report on blacklegged and western blacklegged ticks

The risk from tick bites

• Most blacklegged ticks are found in central and eastern Canada.
• Western blacklegged ticks are found in British Columbia.
• Ticks get infected by feeding on an infected animal or bird.
• Infected ticks can bite humans or animals and can spread diseases like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus disease.

Type of tick surveillance used

Passive and active surveillance methods were used to collect data on ticks in Canada.

Passive surveillance:

• Ticks or their images collected from people or pets that healthcare professionals, veterinarians or the public submit voluntarily.

Active surveillance:

• Ticks collected from their natural habitat using field study methods such as dragging a piece of fabric along the ground (drag sampling).

Highlights from passive surveillance

• 7,941 blacklegged and western blacklegged ticks were submitted in 10 provinces and one territory.
• 7,030 blacklegged ticks were found:
  • About 57% of the data were from image-based submissions.
  • Passive surveillance programs with pathogen testing have been gradually discontinued in Canada resulting in limited data on pathogen testing results for blacklegged ticks in 2022.
• 911 western blacklegged ticks were found:
  • About 1 in 89 ticks carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Seasonality of ticks

• Most blacklegged ticks were submitted from April to June and October to November.
• Most western blacklegged ticks were submitted from March to June.

Highlights from active surveillance

• 331 sites visited in 10 provinces.
• Infected blacklegged and western blacklegged ticks collected in 6 provinces.
• 2,292 blacklegged ticks were found:
  • About 1 in 4 ticks carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
  • About 1 in 35 ticks carried the bacteria that causes anaplasmosis.
  • About 1 in 397 ticks carried the bacteria that causes Borrelia miyamotoi disease.
  • 1 in 397 ticks carried the parasite that causes babesiosis.
  • 1 in 990 ticks carried the virus that causes Powassan virus disease.
• 109 western blacklegged ticks were found in British Columbia:
  • About 1 in 34 ticks carried the bacteria that causes anaplasmosis.
  • About 1 in 83 ticks carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

How to prevent and protect from tick bites

To protect yourself from tick exposure, you can:

• cover exposed skin
• use insect repellent with DEET or Icaridin
• remove ticks using clean, fine-point tweezers
• do a full body check for ticks after being outside

To reduce your environmental risk:

• clear leaf litter
• keep lawns maintained

To protect your pets:

• talk to your veterinarian about tick bite and Lyme disease prevention