TITLE:
Molecular Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia odocoilei, and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Ixodes scapularis Ticks Collected in Veterinary Clinics in Southern Wellington County, Ontario, Canada
AUTHORS:
John Donald Scott, Catherine Marie Scott
KEYWORDS:
Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis, Established Population, Tick-Borne Zoonotic Diseases, Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, Babesia odocoilei, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Pathogen, Veterinary Clinics
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Infectious Diseases,
Vol.16 No.1,
March
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: Tick-borne zoonotic diseases are sinister afflictions to mankind world-wide. A total of 96 adults of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, were collected in southern Wellington County. Using molecular analysis, three pathogens were detected, namely Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), 24/96 (25%), Babesia odocoilei, 15/96 (16%), and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, 1/96 (1%). A single co-infection consisting of B. burgdorferi s.l. and A. phagocytophilum was also detected. We report the first tick-host-pathogen study in southern Wellington County. Overall, 16 established populations were discovered. If clinicians only test and treat patients for the Lyme disease bacterium, they miss 40% of the tick-borne zoonotic infections.