New tick seen in nine US states is an emerging disease threat, warns CDC

A new tick that can be a vector for human and animal diseases and which has appeared in nine US states “represents a new and emerging disease threat,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned.1

The agency said that Haemophysalis longicornis, the Asian or longhorned tick, had been detected in the eastern states of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and in the central state of Arkansas.

“Characterisation of the tick’s biology and ecology are needed, and surveillance efforts should include testing for potential indigenous and exotic pathogens,” it …