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American dog ticks along their expanding range edge in Ontario, Canada.

ABSTRACT: The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, is a tick of public and veterinary health importance in North America. Using passive tick surveillance data, we document distribution changes for the American dog tick in Ontario, Canada, from 2010 through 2018. Dermacentor variabilis submissions from the public were geocoded and aggregated-from large to small administrative geographies-by health region, public health unit (PHU) and Forward Sortation Area (FSA). PHU hot spots with high rates of D. variabilis submissions were (1) Brant County, Haldimand-Norfolk and Niagara Regional in the Central West region and (2) Lambton and Winsor-Essex County in the South West region. The number of established D. variabilis populations with ≥ 6 submissions per year increased significantly during the study at regional (PHUs: 22 to 31) and local (FSAs: 27 to 91) scales. The range of D. variabilis increased similarly to the positive control (Ixodes scapularis) during the study and in contrast to the static range of the negative control (Ixodes cookei). Submission hot spots were in warmer, low elevation areas with poorly drained soils, compared to the province's low submission areas. Dermacentor variabilis is spreading in Ontario and continued research into their vector ecology is required to assess medicoveterinary health risks.

SUBMITTER: Nelder MP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9247098 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The invasion of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis into Ontario, Canada poses a significant risk to public health because it is a vector for numerous pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Baseline field sampling in 2014 and 2015 detected I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi at sites across southern, eastern and central Ontario, including a hot spot in eastern Ontario. A "speed of spread" model for I. scapularis developed by Leighton and colleagues (2012) estimated that the tick's range was expanding northward at 46 km/year. In 2016, we revisited a subset of sites sampled in 2014 and 2015 to understand the changing nature of risk, and assess whether the rate of tick invasion is consistent with the speed of spread estimate. Ticks were collected via tick dragging at 17 out of 36 sites, 5 of which were new sites for I. scapularis. Samples were positive for B. burgdorferi at 8 sites. No other I. scapularis-borne pathogens were detected. Centrographic statistics revealed an increase in the dispersion of I. scapularis positive sites in eastern Ontario. Field data for each site were then compared to the model's predicted year of establishment for each census subdivision. Our findings illustrate that the range expansion of I. scapularis and the emergence of B. burgdorferi is ongoing, and provide short timescale evidence of the processes associated with I. scapularis spread. The range front appears to be moving at a rate of ~46 km/year, with colonization of the tick behind this range front occurring at a slower and heterogeneous rate. Assessment of site-level ecological factors did not provide any insight into the underlying processes that may be influencing the colonization of I. scapularis in specific areas. Ongoing field sampling is needed to monitor this dynamic process. This study highlights the current geographic risk associated with Lyme disease, which can be used to target public health interventions to the areas of greatest risk.

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American dog ticks along their expanding range edge in Ontario, Canada.

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