Tick-borne Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever detected in Quebec and Ontario – CTV
August 25, 2025
Canada’s first known human case of a potentially deadly tick-borne illness has been documented in Quebec.
The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever case was recently recorded in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. It follows reports from Ontario of infected animals that visited Long Point on Lake Erie.
“Many people with this infection can be on the more severe end of the spectrum,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday. “This can cause a very significant illness and can result in hospitalization and death.”
The bacterial illness is carried by several tick species, including dermacentor variabilis, which is also known as the American dog tick. Despite its name, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is most common in the eastern United States, where thousands of cases are recorded every year.
Like other species that carry Lyme disease, the ticks’ range has been expanding northward into Canada due to climate change.
“Fortunately, it’s extraordinarily rare in Canada,” Bogoch, who is a University of Toronto professor and a clinical investigator at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, said. “But as we see ticks survive and thrive in more northern latitudes, we’re seeing more and more tick-transmitted illnesses.”
