Lyme disease surveillance report: Preliminary annual report 2018

Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites that spread between animals and humans. Lyme disease is a multisystemic infection which can lead to health issues such as erythema migrans rash, cardiac, neurologic or arthritic manifestations. It is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick; the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, in Manitoba, central and eastern Canada and the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus in British Columbia. The ticks become infected after feeding on infected small mammals or birds.