Mosquito-borne disease surveillance report: July 19 to 25, 2020 (Week 30)

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Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Date published: 2020-08-13

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Year-to-date snapshot
Year-to-date snapshot - Text equivalent

Between January 1 and July 25, 2020, one human cases of West Nile virus in Canada has been reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Two WNV-positive birds, and 11 WNV-positive mosquito pools have also been reported.

Figure 1. Geographic distribution of WNV human clinical cases and asymptomatic infections in Canada, 2020
Figure 1 - Text equivalent

Between January 1 and July 25, 2020, one human case associated with West Nile virus acquired in Canada were reported to PHAC. Two positive birds have also been reported.

West Nile

Human epidemiology

As of surveillance week 30, ending on July 25, 2020, one human case of West Nile virus (WNV) has been reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) (Table 1).

Table 1. West Nile virus human cases, by disease classification and province (January 1-July 25, 2020)
Province Clinical cases Total of clinical cases Footnote 1 Asymptomatic infections Footnote 2 YTD grand total Rate (per 100,000) Footnote 3
Neurological Non-neurological Unclassified
Quebec 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.01
Total 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00
Footnote 1

Clinical cases are the sum of confirmed and probable: WNV neurological and non-neurological syndromes, along with any unclassified.

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Footnote 2

Satisfies WNV diagnostic test criteria in the absence of clinical criteria (i.e., asymptomatic blood donors whose blood is screened by blood operators, Canadian Blood Services or Héma-Québec.

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Footnote 3

Calculated with grand total of clinical and asymptomatic cases, using Statistics Canada 2020 Q1 population estimates.

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Mosquito, wild bird and equine epidemiology

As of week 30, PHAC has been notified of 7618 mosquito pools tested for WNV in Canada. Of these, there have been 11 WNV-positive mosquito pools identified in Ontario (Table 2).

Two dead wild birds have tested positive for WNV, by the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative in Ontario (Table 3).

Since the start of this season, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has not reported any domestic animals that tested positive for WNV (Table 3).

Figure 2. (A) WNV human clinical cases and asymptomatic infections, (B) positive WNV birds, and (C) percent positive mosquito pools by episode or report week, in Canada, 2020
Figure 2 - Text equivalent

Between January 1 and July 25, 2020, one human case associated with West Nile virus acquired in Canada was reported to PHAC. A total of two birds and <1% of mosquito pools have tested positive for WNV in Canada and reported to PHAC.

Figure 2 footnotes

Footnote 1

Human cases includes clinical cases and asymptomatic infection.

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Footnote 2

Episode week is based on symptom onset or best available date including: diagnosis, lab sample or date reported.

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Footnote 3

Episode week is based off date of death or best available date including: date found, submitted, or received.

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Table 2. Year-to-Date WNV positive pools and percent positive by province and nationally (January 1- July 25, 2020)
Province Footnote 1 Positive pools Total pools tested Percent positive
Saskatchewan 0 5 0.00 %
Manitoba 0 610 0.00 %
Ontario 11 5368 < 1 %
Québec 0 1635 0.00 %
Total 11 7618 < 1 %
Footnote 1

Mosquito surveillance data is reported by the following 4 provinces: Saskatchewan, Manitoba Ontario and Quebec.

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Table 3. Number of WNV positive equine and birds by province and nationally (January 1- July 25, 2020)
Province Wild birds Footnote 1 Equine
British Columbia 0 0
Alberta 0 0
Saskatchewan 0 0
Manitoba 0 0
Ontario 2 0
Quebec 0 0
Maritime provinces 0 0
Territories 0 0
Total 2 0
Footnote 1

Not all provinces conduct dead wild bird surveillance as part of their respective WNV surveillance program. However, WNV positive dead wild birds may be identified through the National Wildlife Disease Surveillance Program, CWHC or by specific provinces.

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California serogroup

As of July 25, 2020, no human exposures or cases of California serogroup virus have been reported by the National Microbiology Laboratory.

Eastern equine encephalitis

No human cases of EEEV have been reported to PHAC since the beginning of the 2020 transmission season.

The CFIA has not reported any horses testing positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV) in Canada.

Provincial/territorial and international surveillance links

Data reported to PHAC is subject to change and may differ from provincial webpages due to reporting timelines. To obtain the latest arbovirus surveillance data, please refer to the following jurisdictional/regional webpages:

Notes

Thank you to all our partners for participating in the National WNV/MBD surveillance program.

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