The Lyme Report year in review
It’s hard to believe I’ve published the last newsletter of the year. Before jumping into the New Year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all of the exciting topics I’ve covered, researchers I’ve spoken to, and papers I’ve analyzed since The Lyme Report kicked off its first issue in June.
Interviews
Janet Sperling, entomologist, University of Alberta (Issue 2)
John Scott, independent tick researcher, Ontario (Issue 3)
Kateryn Rochon, entomologist, University of Manitoba (Issue 4)
David Lieske, geographer, Mount Allison Geospatial Modelling Lab (Issue 5)
Sandy Smith, forest ecologist, University of Toronto (Issue 6)
Odette Gould, psychologist, Mount Allison University (Issue 8)
Vett Lloyd, biologist, Mount Allison University (Issue 9)
Nicoletta Faraone, biochemist, Acadia University (Issue 11)
Topics
Citizen science in action: eTick.ca (Issue 1)
The Canadian Institutes of Health - Strategic Plan (Issue 1)
The Tick Microbiome Initiative (Issue 2)
The growing movement towards transparency in science (Issue 2)
Controversy in the world of tick research (Issue 3)
Tick research efforts in Manitoba (Issue 4)
Mapping Lyme disease risk in the Maritimes (Issue 5)
The role earthworms play in driving Lyme risk (Issue 6)
The Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (Issue 7)
The psychological impact of Lyme disease of parents (Issue 8)
The Mount Allison Lyme Research Network (Issue 9)
A growing threat: Asian longhorned ticks (Issue 10)
A biochemist helps develop a natural tick repellent (Issue 11)
The rise of anaplasma in Canada (Issue 12)
The Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (Issue 13)
The Lyme Disease Enhanced Surveillance System (Issue 13)
Public Health Ontario’s 2018 Summary Report on Vector-borne Diseases (Issue 13)
Research Papers
Estimating direct healthcare costs attributable to laboratory‐confirmed Lyme disease in Ontario, Canada: A population‐based matched cohort study using health administrative data. (Issue 2)
What is the real number of Lyme disease cases in Canada? (Issue 3)
Emerging infectious diseases and biological invasions: a call for a One Health collaboration in science and management (Issue 3)
Clinical Presentation of Lyme disease cases among children from Quebec (Canada) between 2009-2017 (Issue 4)
Detection of municipalities at-risk of Lyme disease using passive surveillance of Ixodes scapularis as an early signal: A province-specific indicator in Canada (Issue 4)
A Multiple Streams Approach to Understanding the Issues and Challenges of Lyme Disease Management in Canada’s Maritime Provinces (Issue 5)
Genetic Diversity of Borrelia garinii from Ixodes uriae collected in seabird colonies of the northwestern Atlantic (Issue 5)
Metabolites of prostaglandin synthases as potential biomarkers of Lyme disease severity and symptom resolution (Issue 6)
Biologic Markers of Antibiotic-Refractory Lyme Arthritis in Human: A Systematic Review (Issue 6)
One Dose of Doxycycline for the Prevention of Lyme Disease: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines (Issue 7)
Parenting When Children Have Lyme Disease: Fear, Frustration, Advocacy (Issue 7)
Presence of Babesia odocoilei and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto in a Tick and Dual Parasitism of Amblyomma inornatum and Ixodes scapularis on a Bird in Canada (Issue 8)
Prevalence of Babesia in Canadian blood donors: June-October 2018. (Issue 8)
Tick infestations of wildlife and companion animals in Ontario, Canada, with detection of human pathogens in Ixodes scapularis ticks (Issue 9)
Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Dirofilaria immitis in Canadian dogs, 2008 to 2015: a repeat cross-sectional study (Issue 9)
Distinction between Borrelia and Borreliella is more robustly supported by molecular and phenotypic characteristics than all other neighbouring prokaryotic genera: Response to Margos' et al. "The genus Borrelia reloaded” (Issue 10)
Antigenic variation in the Lyme spirochete: detailed functional assessment of recombinational switching at vlsE in the JD1 strain of Borrelia burgdorferi (Issue 10)
Updates to the Canadian Notifiable Disease Surveillance System and its interactive website (Issue 11)
Passive and Active Surveillance for Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Saskatchewan, Canada (Issue 11)
Case Report: Colorado Tick Fever Acquired in Southwestern Saskatchewan (Issue 12)
Predicted Northward Expansion of Geographic Range of the Tick Vector Amblyomma americanum in North America under Future Climate Conditions (Issue 12)
Lyme disease prevention: A content analysis of Canadian patient group and government websites (Issue 13)
The 2019 newsletters are fully accessible in the archives for paid subscribers. If you have not yet committed to a paid subscription, I’m offering a special Christmas discount for new subscribers between now and December 31, 2019.
Wishing you the best this holiday season. The next newsletter will come out on January 1, 2020 and will be filled, as always, with lots of exciting news from the world of Canadian tick-borne illness research.