Study finds many ticks carry disease in North Dakota

A high percentage of ticks found in North Dakota carry life-threatening diseases, according to the Department of Health's second annual Department of Health parasite survey.

Four zoos, 37 veterinarians and federal and federal wildlife officials participated in the 2018 study, reported the Minot Daily News.

"They all had ticks, which was a great help," said Laura Cronquist, NDDOH Disease Control Division. "We had more coverage all over the state in 2018, which was really good."

The state was divided into eight regions for the tick surveillance survey that began in 2017. Groups of up to 20 ticks from each region were inspected to search for the existence of several diseases.

The most common tick in North Dakota is the American tick, which is a close relative of the Rocky Mountain tick. Both are known to carry the dreaded fever of the spotted spots of the Rocky Mountains that, if left untreated, can be deadly.

American dog ticks and Rocky Mountain wood ticks comprised 176 pools, of which 106 were pathogen positive.

Deer ticks, known carriers of Lyme disease, were found in 22 of the 25 counties studied.

Grbady Butte breeder John Heiser provided nearly half of the 13,640 ticks collected and sent to the state laboratory for testing for the disease.