[ad_1]
The first evidence of human bite by the exotic East Asian horn tick has been reported, according to the tick testing laboratory at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
Officials said the resident who lived in Fairfield County.
The Long-horned Tick is an invasive species originally discovered on a New Jersey farm in 2017 and has since been found in eight other states, including Connecticut. It was last detected in Connecticut in July 2018, officials said.
According to the researchers, the newly discovered tick feeds on a wide variety of mammals, including humans, but it is unknown how often.
Horned ticks have been found to carry several human pathogens in Asia, but officials have stated that it is unclear whether this tick is capable of transmitting pathogens such as those causing diseases such as Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis or Powassan virus.
"The identification of a long-horned Asian tick feeding on a resident of the state underscores the importance of our tick testing program to help corroborate the ability of this tick to bite humans outside its original range It will be imperative to better identify the risk associated with this tick and its ability to transmit local pathogens responsible for diseases, "said Dr. Theodore Andreadis, director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station.
The tick testing laboratory at the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station tests nearly 4,000 ticks every year to detect three agents causing human illness.
[ad_2]
Source link
