Two Exotic Disease-Carrying Ticks Have Just Been Identified in Rhode Island
Sep 29, 2020
Local authorities in Rhode Island announced that two new tick species were identified on Block Island. The tick species were traced back to Eurasia and Asia origins.
Dr. Danielle Tufts from Columbia University identified the two species Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian long-horned tick) and Haemaphysalis punctata (red sheep tick), reported the state’s Department of Environmental Management (DEM). (See link for article)
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**Comment**
Both ticks are considered live-stock pests but they can and do bite humans, transmitting diseases. Farmers, hunters, and hikes are at greater risk.
- The Asian long-horned tick transmits Lyme disease, SFTS, spotted fever rickettsiosis (RMSF in a lab setting), Anaplasma, & Ehrlichia: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/12/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/
- The red sheep tick is identified with Tick paralysis, Tick Borne Encephalitis virus, Tribec virus, Bhanja virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Babesia bovis, Theileria recondita, Coxiella burneti, Francisella tularensis. http://www.bristoluniversitytickid.uk/page/Haemaphysalis+punctata/17/#.X3S-TS2ZOWgCattle: Babesia major, Babesia bigemina, Theileria mutans, Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale
Sheep: Babesia motasi, Theileria ovis
Red sheep tick, Adult female dorsal view
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-jersey-1.html
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
Bat tick found for the first time in New Jersey
A tick species associated with bats has been reported for the first time in New Jersey and could pose health risks to people, pets and livestock, according to a Rutgers-led study in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
This species (Carios kelleyi) is a “soft” tick. Deer ticks, which carry Lyme disease, are an example of “hard” ticks.
“All ticks feed on blood and may transmit pathogens (disease-causing microbes) during feeding,” said lead author James L. Occi, a doctoral student in the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “We need to be aware that if you remove bats from your belfry, attic or elsewhere indoors, ticks that fed on those bats may stay behind and come looking for a new source of blood. There are records of C. kelleyi biting humans.” (See link for article)
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**Comment**
A few important points:
- A related species, Carios jersey, was found in amber 2001
- C. kelleyi has been found in 29 states so far
- Public health risk remains unknown, but it has been found to be infected with harmful pathogens in other states
- There are reports of this tick feeding on humans
- The bat it feeds on regularly roosts in attics and barns
- It has been identified with rickettsia and borrelia (Lyme): https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/carios
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2058858379813/first-case-of-parasitic-soft-ticks-reported-in-new-jersey The current pandemic has been accompanied by cases of other illnesses and diseases such as African Swine Flu, Ebola, Bubonic Plague, West Nile Virus, Dengue outbreaks around the world.
