Quebec health officials have confirmed the province’s first case of a tick-borne bacterial disease that can cause serious illness and death.
The case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever was discovered in Estrie, according to an epidemiologist and researcher with the local health authority.
Estrie is in the southeastern part of the province, near the U.S. border. It is about 169 kilometres east of Montreal.
It’s the first case in Quebec, epidemiologist Alex Carignan said in a post on X.
“Fortunately, the patient responded well to doxycycline treatment,” he said in the post.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused by bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, which is spread through tick bites, according to Health Canada….