Confirmation of three cases of a rare disease transmitted by ticks: the authorities of the State of New York react

Michel Bellemare

Sunday, 3 September 2017 14:06

UPDATE
Sunday, 3 September 2017 14:06

Look at this article

The proliferation of ticks, the diseases they transmit and the increase of their distribution range in the State of New York are pushing the health authorities to put more efforts in the supervision and education of the public face of this phenomenon.

During 2017, the department of Health of the State of New York has monitored more than a hundred sites on its territory in order to collect data, particularly on the diseases that ticks carry.

In a recent news release, the department notes that earlier this summer, he put more energy in the county of Saratoga to the north of the city of Albany – after having confirmed three cases of people infected by the encephalitis virus Powassan. This viral disease is very rare, is forwarded to – among others – by the same species of ticks (Ixodes scapularis or blacklegged tick), which transmits Lyme disease.

The symptoms of Powassan may resemble those of a cold-moderate, but can go up to an encephalitis (brain inflammation) very serious.

According to the department of Health of the State of New York, there were only 26 confirmed cases of encephalitis in Powassan in humans since 2000. The three cases of the county of Saratoga are also the only three confirmed this year throughout the State of New York.

By examining ticks collected at different locations this year, the health authorities were able to confirm, for the first time, the presence of the virus in the county of Saratoga.

“This enhanced surveillance will continue this fall with the collection of adult ticks from these same locations, as well as with the collection and examination of blood of deer killed by hunters in order to check if they have been exposed to Powassan”, one can read in the press release of the department of Health.

The authorities have also indicated that they were going to make it more available to the public the data collected on the issue of ticks and the diseases they transmit, and that information materials will be prepared for hunters. The distribution of school materials for schools and libraries is also considered.

In Quebec, health authorities, by testing ticks for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, also check if the insects are carriers of the encephalitis virus Powassan.

In 2016, no tick tested was a carrier, according to the most recent monitoring Report of the Lyme disease. No cases of encephalitis in Powassan has not been reported in Quebec in 2016, according to the same report.

Lyme disease continues to advance, Quebec

The number of Lyme disease cases reported in Quebec continued to increase last year, according to the most recent monitoring report of the national Institute of public health of Québec, made public last week.

• READ ALSO: was diagnosed with Lyme disease after 16 years of suffering

In 2016, a total of 174 cases of this disease have been reported to the public health. One-hundred and twenty-four of these cases concertaient of the people who contracted the infection on the territory of quebec, the remaining 42 were cases of infection outside of Quebec and, in eight cases it was impossible to determine the place of acquisition of disease, or the place where the people have been infected.

This is an increase compared to the 160 reported cases of 2015 – of which 113 were cases of people having been infected in Quebec.

The number of reported cases in 2016 is the highest since Lyme disease is a reportable disease in Quebec.

A large majority of cases of people having been infected in quebec by 2016 are in the region of Estrie and Montérégie, nearly 94 % of the cases.

Other cases confirmed and probable – have been listed in the Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec (1) and on the North Shore (1). In the other case, the place of the infection could not be determined.

Also, the national Institute of public health has noted that “among the 124 cases acquired in Quebec, 90 (73 %) were reported between the months of July and September and the peak was noted in September with 37 cases”.

In 2016, the Lyme disease has affected slightly more men (57 %) than women (43 %), says the report. The average age of cases was 43 years of age, but the age group most affected was that of 60-69 years.

In addition, the Laroratoire de santé publique du Québec is continuing its program of surveillance (passive and active) of Ixodes scapularis tick responsible for transmitting Lyme disease to humans.

Among the 2158 ticks that it has received from the various regions of Quebec (passive surveillance) and that he has tested for Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent that causes Lyme disease, the Laboratory has identified 372 or 17.4 % with the bacteria.

For its part, the active surveillance, that is to say, the collection of insects, carried out in 2016, has helped collect 1036 ticks, Ixodes scapularis, of which 82 were positive for Borrelia burgdorferi. They were spread out in 22 sites located primarily in the Montérégie region, the report said.