All The Quebec Towns & Cities With A 'Significant Risk' Of Lyme Disease This Year
It's summertime and for some of us, that means long hikes through nature. Unfortunately, taking long hikes might also mean you could pick up a tick, some of which can transmit Lyme disease.
Some Quebec municipalities are more high-risk for Lyme disease than others, according to information released by the Institut national de santé publique (INSPQ) in June.
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Which Quebec towns and cities have the highest risk?
The INSPQ lists 85 cities and towns with "significant" risk. The Institute organizes them alphabetically by health region.
That list is reproduced below.
Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec
Drummondville
Odanak
Saint-Lucien
Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham
Estrie
Bedford
Brigham
Brome
Bromont
Cowansville
Danville
Dunham
East Farnham
Farnham
Frelighsburg
Granby
Lac-Brome
Magog
Potton
Roxton Pond
Saint-Armand
Saint-Joachim-de-Shefford
Shefford
Stanbridge East
Sutton
Ulverton
Montreal
Baie-D’Urfé
Beaconsfield
Dollard-des-Ormeaux
Dorval
Kirkland
L’Île-Dorval
Montreal (parts)
- specifically, the INSPQ lists the jurisdictions of the Réseaux locaux de services (RLS) of Pierrefonds–Lac Saint-Louis and Dorval–Lachine–LaSalle
Pointe-Claire
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
Senneville
Outaouais
Bristol
Chelsea
La Pêche
Pontiac
Val-des-Monts
Lanaudière
Terrebonne
Laurentides
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge
Montérégie
Acton Vale
Boucherville
Carignan
Châteauguay
Dundee
Elgin
Franklin
Godmanchester
Havelock
Hemmingford
Henryville
Hinchinbrooke
Huntingdon
Kahnawake
Lacolle
Longueuil
Marieville
Mont-Saint-Hilaire
Noyan
Richelieu
Roxton
Roxton Falls
Saint-Anicet
Saint-Basile-le-Grand
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle
Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu
Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville
Saint-Chrysostome
Saint-Dominique
Sainte-Barbe
Sainte-Clotilde
Sainte-Julie
Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois
Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville
Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Saint-Pie
Saint-Valentin
Saint-Valérien-de-Milton
Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
Sorel-Tracy
Très-Saint-Sacrement
Venise-en-Québec
How many Lyme disease cases were there in Quebec last year?
In 2020, there were 274 cases of Lyme disease reported to Quebec public health, 250 of which the INSPQ says were contracted within Quebec.
In 2019, there were 500 reported cases. The Institute says the drop may be due in part to delays in reporting and "a decrease in physician visits" during the pandemic, among other possible factors.
Estrie "remains the [region] the most affected by Lyme disease, reporting nearly 63% of all cases and a standardized incidence rate 10 times higher than the provincial rate," according to the INSPQ.
The Government of Quebec lists preventative measures online. They include staying on trails, covering skin with pants and long-sleeved shirts, and tucking "your pants into your socks or boots."
This article's cover image is used for illustrative purposes only.
