How CanLyme’s annual conferences could lead to better care for patients with Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses

When the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation began putting together its first annual conference early in 2025, it set a major goal for itself: the event wasn’t going to be a typical medical meeting meant for just one specialty or professional group.

Instead, the organizers vowed they would gather a wide range of disciplines in one room, including medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and medical students, to advance the goal of helping patients with Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

And according to Dr. Janet Sperling, the president of CanLyme, the foundation succeeded admirably when more than 60 health professionals attended the Canadian Tick-Borne Disease Conference in downtown Toronto on Nov. 8 and 9 to share their experiences and learn from each other.

“The conference brought together different types of medical practitioners with varied experience to focus on these complex illnesses to help serve patients better,” Sperling says.

“Our goal is to create teams of clinicians who can not only help individuals by sharing best practices but also identify areas worthy of further study that can improve patient care.”

That goal is an urgent one. Lyme disease is now the most prevalent vector-borne illness in Canada as climate change continues to supercharge the spread of ticks in many parts of the country, fuelling an explosion in case numbers. In fact, some estimates put the real figures at more than 13 times the number of reported infections. Other tick-borne diseases are rapidly gaining a foothold, as well.

Passing the baton

The push to organize the conference began in mid-January of this year when Dr. Tim Cook, one of Canada’s foremost authorities on treating Lyme disease, brought the idea to CanLyme.

Since 2013, Cook has dedicated much of his Toronto practice to treating patients with tick-borne diseases.

“Over these years the incidence and prevalence of acute and chronic tick-borne illness has climbed alarmingly,” Cook says. “But the response from the conventional medical system has not kept up and remains inadequate, contributing to the suffering of these patients.”

However, he acknowledges that time is running out for him to pass on the knowledge he’s gathered to other health professionals.

“I am, sadly, closing in on retirement age and will need to pass the baton for this kind of care to others,” he says.

He thought a conference would be a good way to do that. Thanks to the hard work done by foundation board members Mary Keating and Dr. Sarah Keating, it took less than a year to come to fruition.  

“This would not have happened or been so successful without them,” Cook says.

The conference featured many excellent Canadian speakers, including CanLyme Board Member  Dr. Vett Lloyd, a professor of biology at Mt. Allison University in New Brunswick. 

Topics included the scope of tick-borne illness in Canada evidenced by the testing of ticks for human pathogens, current Canadian research, diagnostic methods, including the limitations of the current two-tiered testing for Lyme and different approaches to treatment.

Cook himself spoke on both days, passing on what he’s learned after more than a decade of treating patients, including those with chronic Lyme, a condition that has sparked a lot of debate among health professionals and infectious disease experts. 

The talks were informative and relevant to anyone who encounters patients with infection-associated chronic illness, tick-borne or otherwise. The audience questions showed a high level of engagement and interest.

Conference was ‘really great’ and ‘inspiring’

And perhaps most of all, the conference provided an opportunity for practitioners to network and to share ideas informally between talks. Attendees provided a lot of positive feedback in their comments, including:

• “I think the experience and knowledge of the speakers was inspiring and exactly what is needed to provide great education.”
• “Patient stories were really great. They remind us why we do what we do.”
• “Hearing other people talk about the conditions I already treat but with their own style — nice to hear different practice styles, especially when we are practising in isolation.”
• “It was great to be able to ask the speakers questions during breaks and just find out what people are doing around the country, and make them resources.”
• “I felt proud to see so many Canadian practitioners doing Lyme work.”
• “Having people from across Canada was great, to see what everyone is struggling with.”

CanLyme is grateful not only to Cook, but the foundation’s generous donors who helped fund the conference, the wonderful staff at Vantage Venues who cheerfully accommodated every request and all the dedicated and enthusiastic attendees who work diligently to help patients every day.. 

“There was a real openness to embracing complexity – so necessary in this field,” Sperling says.

“There was a real sense of collaboration and hope amongst the attendees and an eagerness to share and learn from each other.”