Global Warming Causes Rise In Lyme Diseases In Canada

June 19, 2009 2:41 p.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - Lyme disease has spread rapidly across Canada. Once confined to a small area by Lake Erie's shoreline in Ontario, the ailment is now found in southern Ontario, Nova Scotia, southeastern Manitoba, New Brunswick and southern British Columbia.

The disease is caused by blood-sucking ticks which feeds on humans and animals, particularly birds and rodents. The fast spread of the ailment is attributed to global warming which increased areas with climates suitable to increase in tick population.

Persons afflicted with Lyme could suffer from deadly complications like meningitis, heart ailments and brain and spinal cord inflammation.

The ticks transmits the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Among the symptoms of Lyme disease is skin lesion called erythema migrans, which expands in size.

Because of its rapid spread, health authorities in Canada mandated all doctors beginning January 2009 to report clinically confirmed and suspected cases of Lyme disease to the national surveillance authority.

The study, made by various health agencies in Canada, was published in the online edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.