'A black hole': Gananoque, Ont. resident warns against new tick infection to the region
An eastern Ontario man is telling his story, after recently being diagnosed with a bacterial infection that comes from the same tick that carries Lyme disease.
Called anaplasmosis, it can be a serious bacterial infection that can be picked up after being bitten by a black-legged tick.
Douglas Mackintosh is a resident in Ivy Lea, Ont., near Gananoque, who owns a large property and is used to checking for ticks and bites daily.
Still, one day in late August, the 90-year-old suddenly found himself feeling confused and weak.
“I suddenly didn’t feel well and I didn’t feel well on my mind,” Mackintosh explained. "(I) wasn’t making me make much sense and I knew something was very wrong...it was sort of a black hole."
Within hours, his wife Blu Mackintosh says he continued to deteriorate.
“During the day he got weaker, his legs couldn’t hold him up,” explained Blu. “By the evening he was falling on the ground and he couldn’t get up again. A little bit of delirium was setting in."
Thinking he had contracted COVID-19, Macintosh was rushed to the hospital. He spent days undergoing rounds of tests, from MRIs to CT Scans.
"It was quite scary. I couldn’t make out why they were doing all these blood tests," he says. “I think I had 30 blood tests in four days.”
Doctors eventually diagnosed him with anaplasmosis.
Dr. Gerald Evans is an infectious disease expert with Queen’s University. He says mainly found in the Europe and the U.S., it was first discovered in humans in the eastern Ontario region in 2018.
"We’ve seen more cases now here in southern Canada, particularly here in southern Quebec and south-eastern Ontario," he explains.
Unlike Lyme disease, the symptoms can come on quickly and appear more severe, says Evans. They can include fever, tiredness, aches and pains in bones and joints, and even possible anemia.
He says 30-50 per cent of those who have been bitten by an infected tick could need hospitalization.
In 2020, one case was reported in the region, this year that’s jumped to seven.
“We talk a lot with our colleagues in primary care and emergency departments saying, 'Watch out if you see this kind of presentation.' Again it’s fairly of non-specific, but think about anaplasmosis, if there’s a history of exposure to tick bites."
Luckily, it’s actually easier to treat than Lyme Disease, explains Evans, it can be treated quickly with antibiotics and people feel better within a few days.
A month later, home and on the mend, Mackintosh says he wants people to know about anaplasmosis, and be diligent about protecting against ticks.
"People need to keep their eyes open, because it affects your whole body. My whole body was aching from one end to the other."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.