A "tick clone" that can reproduce alone has drained the blood of livestock and threatens humans – History



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In what may seem like a scourge of biblical proportions, swarms of a new bloodthirsty invasive tick have killed several cows in North Carolina and already have an appealing taste for human blood.

Long horned Asian ticks, also known as "tick clones", are particularly disturbing because they have the ability to reproduce without a partner and, unfortunately, this is not their worst aspect.

A fully-fed female can father up to 2,000 children herself, transmitting various diseases to humans, such as the Powassan virus. Symptoms may include fever, vomiting and seizures, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued a press release saying that the deaths of five cows were linked to acute anemia caused by tick infestations.

"The dead young bull brought into our Northwestern Animal Disease Diagnostics Laboratory had more than 1,000 ticks and the owner had lost four other cattle in the same circumstances," the organization said.

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Researchers in New York have reported the first case of tick species biting a human in the United States. Field studies confirmed that this tick species was present in several areas surrounding the victim's home.

The Centers for Disease Control reported that on June 24, horned ticks were found in Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

While these "clone ticks" have generally been found in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, where they are known to spread deadly pathogens, this specific species has mysteriously appeared in the United States in 2017, when NPR reported that a woman from New Jersey had discovered invasive species on her sheep and her clothes.

While the CDC claims that the bites of these ticks are known to make people and animals seriously ill in other countries, "no harmful germs that can infect people have been found in ticks collected in the United States. United".

The CDC states that anyone who thinks they have found an Asian long-horned tick should eliminate the insect as quickly as possible and examine his clothes after going out.

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