Lyme disease is an illness caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, and related Borrelia species, and transmitted to humans through an infected tick bite. Not all types of ticks transmit these bacteria, and some may carry other infections causing illness.  Diagnosis is difficult since a tick bite may go unnoticed, the symptoms can be changeable, and may be complicated by other factors, including more than one infection.  In some cases, symptoms follow a textbook presentation of the infection, and there is a known and identified tick bite, leading to appropriate treatment and resolution. In other cases, there is a delay in identifying the infection and starting treatment, leading to complications. There is considerable controversy in the mainstream medical community regarding the diagnosis, treatment and persisting symptoms even after treatment.  In Canada, there are geographical areas considered high risk for infected ticks, and others where the risk is considered low but not zero (Lyme Disease: Monitoring, 2024). There is evidence that migrating song birds may carry infected ticks to low risk areas of Canada (Scott et al. 2018), which may be a factor evaluating the risk of a transmitted infection in a non-endemic area. The recognition of this growing burden, including submitting ticks for identification and testing for potential infections, will support overall awareness and early detection.  Surveillance of ticks in Canada is important and free services exist to identify ticks in Canada (IFTPS, n.d.), though they do not test for infections the ticks may carry. Different species of ticks can carry different infections that have been identified in Canada (Provincial tick testing data, 2024), (Ticks in Canada, n.d.). There are multiple options for sending ticks for testing, though they differ in the infections they test for. While some facilities offer free testing or for research purposes, the reporting time may be too slow to make clinical decisions. Geneticks offers tick identification, affordable testing for infections, as well as passive surveillance and continued research collaborations to support tick-borne disease awareness. Consider reviewing information from different sources, in order to make informed decisions. Dr. Taylor encourages a broad evaluation to limit bias- if tick-borne infections are ruled out, investigating root causes of symptoms is still prudent.

 

Selected resources: (Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, 2026), (International Lyme and Associated Diseases, 2026), (Lyme disease: symptoms and treatment, 2025), (Lyme Disease, 2024), (Tick borne diseases of the United States, 2025), (Hansmann et al., 2025) and selected research: (Ogden  et al., 2024), (Scott et al. 2021), (Scott and Pesapane 2021), (Rogerson and Lloyd, 2020), (Sanderson et al., 2023), (Lewis et al., 2021), (Mechai  et al., 2025), (Kelly et al., 2024), (Lloyd and Hawkins, 2018), (Sperling et al., 2012).   Dr. Taylor continues to build on her training and experiences treating these conditions since 2008, with an aim to provide support for individuals to make informed decisions.    ​