Starting this weekend, healthcare workers in Ontario will be required to report cases of three tick-borne diseases, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus, to their local health authorities.

From the article:

[Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore says] “It’s absolutely expected that we’ll have greater incidence over the next several years because this is a known wave of infections that we’ve seen migrate up the coastline of northeast North America and anticipate them affecting Ontarians."

Over the last 20 years there has been a rise in the incidence of Lyme disease as ticks, particularly black-legged ticks, are able to survive the winters, Moore said. The United States has seen waves of anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan virus come after cases of Lyme disease, Moore said, and he expects to see that in Ontario as well.

“It is simply from the ability of these ticks, that are now able to survive our winters and stay and breed over their two-year lifecycle,” Moore said.