CDC: Disease-Spreading Asian Tick Found in 9 U.S. States
*The exotic tick can transmit hemorrhagic fever to humans.
Excerpted from US News and World Report: (11/29/2018)
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday that a dangerous tick capable of spreading diseases in humans and animals has been found in the United States.
The tick is indigenous to eastern China, Japan, eastern Russia and Korea and was introduced in Australia, New Zealand and several island nations in the western Pacific region. Called Haemaphysalis longicornis, or the Asian longhorned tick, the CDC said it can lead to hemorrhagic fever, Lyme disease and a 25 percent reduction of production in dairy cattle.
“The full public health and agricultural impact of this tick discovery and spread is unknown,” said Ben Beard, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. “In other parts of the world, the Asian longhorned tick can transmit many types of pathogens common in the United States. We are concerned that this tick, which can cause massive infestations on animals, on people, and in the environment, is spreading in the United States.”
According to the CDC, the tick was first discovered in the U.S. in New Jersey in August 2017 on a sheep and again in the spring of 2018 in the same location. It was later found in other counties in New Jersey and in several other eastern states and Arkansason six species of domestic animals, six species of wildlife and on humans.
Following the discovery, the CDC “expanded surveillance to determine the evolving distribution” of the insect.
The USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service worked with the CDC to monitor the tick in the United States and search for any additional infestations. The agencies found that from August 2017 to September 2018, 53 reports of the Asian longhorned tick were made in the U.S., with 23 from domestic animals, 15 from grass or vegetation, 13 from wildlife and two from humans.
The USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service worked with the CDC to monitor the tick in the United States and search for any additional infestations. The agencies found that from August 2017 to September 2018, 53 reports of the Asian longhorned tick were made in the U.S., with 23 from domestic animals, 15 from grass or vegetation, 13 from wildlife and two from humans.
In addition to New Jersey, which had the most incidences, and Arkansas, the tick was found in Virginia, West Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland. No illnesses were reported in humans or animals.
Examining data from years ago, the CDC retrospectively identified a tick found on a deer in West Virginia in 2010 and one collected from a dog in New Jersey in 2013 as the Asian longhorned tick.
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