Canadians exploring the outdoors this summer are being warned about threats other than Lyme disease from tick bites as cases rise. While Lyme disease is the most common concern about ticks, health officials are increasingly worried about another tick-borne disease called anaplasmosis. Experts reported their concerns about the “rapidly rising” incidents of anaplasmosis, the second most common disease spread by the arachnids in Canada, in an article published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). Blacklegged ticks, which transmit Lyme disease and anaplasmosis through bites, have spread in many provinces, researchers noted. No statistics were provided on the number of anaplasmosis cases nationally in the report. …Symptoms can include fever, weakness, headache and gastrointestinal distress. Anaplasmosis can damage vital organs, causing hospitalization from health problems such as myocarditis, encephalitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute renal failure, though they are less common and death is rare, experts say.
