ArticlePloS one2017
Northward range expansion of Ixodes scapularis evident over a short timescale in Ontario, Canada.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global trends in tick research: a comprehensive visualization and bibliometric study (2015-2024).Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Assessing the Effectiveness of Crowdsourced Data to Detect Established Tick Populations in Quebec, Canada: Retrospective Ecological Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Comparison of tick surveillance approaches: Utilizing trailhead tick-check stations to support tick surveillance and community education.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Global risk assessment of Lyme borreliosis transmission.Pathogens and global health · 2026Article
- Review
- Predicting current and future areas of ecological suitability for Lutzomyia longipalpis sensu lato in the Americas.Journal of medical entomology · 2026Article
- Scientist's Opinion on Climate Change and Hard Ticks (Ixodidae).Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Comparison of tick surveillance approaches: utilizing trailhead tick-check stations to support tick surveillance and community education.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Pathogenicity and virulence of Powassan virus.Virulence · 2025Review
- Anaplasmosis: Emerging threat in Canada.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025Review
- Spatial and temporal analyses of Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (Acari: Ixodidae) in central and eastern Canada.Medical and veterinary entomology · 2025Article
- Current and future ecological niche of Dermacentor similis Lado (Acari: Ixodidae) in western North America.Journal of medical entomology · 2025Article
- Assessing current and future areas of ecological suitability for Lutzomyia shannoni in North America.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Evidence for the long-distance transport of ticks and tick-borne pathogens by human travellers to Texas, USA.Journal of travel medicine · 2025Article
- A Warming World, a Growing Threat: The Spread of Ticks and Emerging Tick-Borne Diseases.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Historical Summary of Tick and Animal Surveillance Studies for Lyme Disease in Canada, 1975-2023: A Scoping Review.Zoonoses and public health · 2025Article
- A seasonal matrix population model for ixodid ticks with complex life histories and limited host availability.Ecology · 2025Article
- Article
- Climate change and Vibrio vulnificus dynamics: A blueprint for infectious diseases.PLoS pathogens · 2024Review
- The role of southern red-backed voles, Myodes gapperi, and Peromyscus mice in the enzootic maintenance of Lyme disease spirochetes in North Dakota, USA.Ticks and tick-borne diseases · 2024Article
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.