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BLACKLEGGED (DEER) TICK Ixodes scapularis
The blacklegged tick is the officially accepted common name for Ixodes scapularis, but many people refer to them as "deer ticks". Adult females are dark brown in appearance and are less than 1/8 inch (3.12mm) long. Larvae and nymphs feed on small mammals and birds. The white-footed mouse is an important host for the immature ticks, while adults are more common on deer. All stages will bite humans, but due to their small size, attachment by larvae and nymphs often goes unnoticed.
The blacklegged tick is a vector of two bacterial diseases and one protozoan disease in New York state. Lyme disease is caused by infection with the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Nymphs are considered to be the most important stage for transmission because they are easily overlooked due to their small size. of symptoms is because it takes time for the immune system to develop detectable antibodies.
Most cases of Lyme disease are reported from Long Island and the lower Hudson River Valley.
Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis is caused by infection with the bacteria Ehrlichia phagocytophilia. The incubation period and symptoms are similar to human monocytic ehrlichiosis, except a rash rarely occurs. Unlike Lyme disease, prompt removal of ticks does not seem to decrease one's chances of contracting an infection. Dual infections of Borrelia burgdorferi and Ehrlichia phagocytophila have been documented in single populations of ticks and in individual ticks. Infections are treatable with antibiotics.
Human babesiosis, caused by the protozoan Babesia microti, is rare but does occur in New York state, primarily on Long Island. Babesiosis causes a malaria-like illness after a 1 to 4 week incubation period. Symptoms include fever, chills, profuse sweating, headache, and muscle aches. The disease can range from relatively mild to, in rare cases, death. Ticks must acquire the protozoan through feeding on an infected host. Treatment includes antimicrobial therapy.
Blacklegged ticks live two to three years and have three blood meals. The life cycle begins when the female lays eggs. As the eggs mature, they develop into larvae, then nymphs, and finally adults. Larvae usually feed on white-footed mice or other small mammals. If the mouse is infected with disease-causing organisms, the larva will become infected and be able to transmit these organisms during its second or third feeding. In the spring and summer of the tick’s second year, primarily from May through early July, the nymph becomes active and takes its second feeding from a mammal. If the tick is carrying disease agents from its first feeding in the larval stage, it can transmit them during this second feeding. If the nymph was not already infected, it can become infected if the second meal host is carrying disease agents. The nymph is about the size of a poppy seed. Nymph stage ticks often look like a speck of dirt or a freckle on a person’s skin.
In the fall of the second year, nymphs molt into adult ticks. Female adults are red or orange and larger than males. The adult female ticks feed and mate on large animals in the fall or early spring. The female lays her eggs, then dies. If the ticks did not get a blood meal in the fall, they go dormant over winter and seek a meal in the spring. A frost does not kill blacklegged ticks. Adults may become active as soon as it is above freezing. They are occassionally spotted during a temporary thaw in the winter. As female ticks feed over the course of several days, their bodies slowly enlarge with blood (engorge). Adult females infected with disease agents as larvae or nymphs may transmit disease during this feeding. Male ticks attach, but do not feed or become engorged. Because the adult males do not take a blood meal, they do not transmit Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, or babesiosis.
Blacklegged ticks feed on blood by inserting their mouth parts into the skin. They are slow feeders and will feed for 3-5 days. If the blacklegged tick is infected, it must be attached for 24-48 hours before it transmits Lyme disease, and at least 12-24 hours to transmit human anaplasmosis.
Blacklegged ticks live in wooded, brushy areas that provide food and cover for white-footed mice, deer and other mammals. This habitat also provides the humidity ticks need to survive. Exposure to ticks may be greatest in the woods (especially along trails) and the fringe area between the woods and border. Blacklegged ticks search for a host from the tips of low-lying vegetation and shrubs, not from trees. Generally, ticks attach to a person or animal near ground level. Blacklegged ticks crawl; they do not jump or fly. They grab onto people or animals that brush against vegetation, and then they crawl upwards to find a place to bite.
The female is easily distinguished from any other tick by her pronounced white dot or star in the center of her back. The star is actually part of her shield. Females are 1/4 inch (6.35mm) long and reddish brown in coloration. A distinctive white spot or "star" on the scutum is characteristic of females. A reticulated pattern is apparent on the outer margins on the upper body surface of males.
Lone Star ticks are aggressive ticks and are known to move long distances in pursuit of the host.
The distribution, range and abundance of the lone star tick have increased over the past 20-30 years, and lone star ticks have been recorded in large numbers as far north as Maine and as far west as central Texas and Oklahoma. All three life stages (larva, nymph, adult) of the lone star tick will feed on humans. Lone star ticks will also feed readily on other animals, including dogs and cats, and may be brought into the home on pets. The saliva from lone star ticks can be irritating; redness and discomfort at a bite site does not necessarily indicate an infection. All stages of Amblyomma americanum will aggressively attack people and other medium-to-large mammals. Lone star ticks have long mouthparts but with care the stylets can be completely removed from the host skin. Even with successful removal of mouthparts the cementing substance is left in the bite wound. This cement material can causing itching, skin irritation, and localized swelling immediately around the bite. Several cases of human monocytic ehrlichiosis are reported annually in New York State with most cases reported from Long Island and the lower Hudson River Valley. The causative agent is Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a type of bacterium. After an incubation period of 5 to 10 days nonspecific symptoms appear, including a high fever, severe headache, chills, aching muscles and joints, and fatigue. Patients may exhibit a rash, but it is not a common clinical feature of the disease. Usually infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis is mild, but severe manifestations of the disease may result in death. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis is treatable with antibiotics. Tularemia is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. It causes chills, fever, headache, joint stiffness, muscle pains & other symptoms along with a red spot on the skin, enlarging to a sore (ulcer). Tularemia in humans is relatively rare in New York State.
The lone star tick has not been shown to transmit Lyme disease. Patients bitten by lone star ticks will occasionally develop a circular rash similar to the rash of early Lyme disease. The cause of this rash has not been determined; however, studies have shown that is not caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The rash may be accompanied by fatigue, headache, fever, and muscle and joint pains. This condition has been named southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). In the cases of STARI studied to date, the rash and accompanying symptoms have resolved following treatment with oral antibiotics. STARI has not been linked to any arthritic, neurological, or chronic symptoms.
The life cycle of the lone star tick is similar to that of the blacklegged tick, with several notable differences. Unlike blacklegged ticks, which acquire hosts passively through ambush (questing on vegetation or in the litter awaiting a passing host), the lone star tick is also a hunter and will actively pursue hosts by moving towards a carbon dioxide gradient or source of vibration. the lone star tick may be quite abundant and, coupled with its aggressive behavior, is considered a serious pest to humans, livestock, and wildlife. Because the lone star tick seems resistant to hot, dry conditions that may result in desiccation of other tick species, all active stages will quest above ground on vegetation. In lone star tick-infested areas, it is common to brush against vegetation and acquire one or more clusters of several hundred or more larvae or “seed ticks.” Again, this questing behavior increases the chances of encountering larger mammal hosts. Consequently, although the lone star tick is known to feed on a variety of small mammals and birds, it most often feeds on white-tailed deer.
The seasonal distribution of lone star ticks is similar to that of blacklegged ticks, except there is no fall adult activity peak. The peak activity period of lone star tick adults is Early May through Late June, lagging behind that of adult blacklegged ticks by several weeks. Nymphs of both species are most active between mid-May and mid-July, while larvae appear in significant numbers beginning in late July through September. The activity periods of the lone star tick tend to be of longer duration compared to blacklegged ticks, and during their respective activity peaks, lone star ticks are typically more abundant than blacklegged ticks within the same areas. It should also be noted that adult and nymphal lone star ticks are also active during the principal Lyme disease transmission season.
AMERICAN DOG TICK Dermacentor variabilis
Females are about 1/4 inch (6.35mm) long and are chestnut brown with a silvery-gray or creamy-white scutum. Male ticks are slightly smaller, and are chestnut brown with similar light-colored vertical markings on the dorsal surface. Larvae feed on small mammals, and nymphs feed on small-to medium-sized mammals. Adults, sometimes called wood ticks, occasionally attack humans but are more common on dogs and other medium-sized animals.
The adult American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, is active in the spring, summer, and fall. It lives along woodland paths, in recreational parks, farm pastures, wastelands, and other shrubby habitats in rural and suburban areas. In each stage of its life cycle, this tick may feed on a different animal. For example, the larvae feed only on white-footed field mice and meadow voles or pine voles, whereas nymphs prefer medium-sized mammals such as opossum or raccoons. Adults prefer humans and dogs as hosts.
A known vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, a bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. Most Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases are reported from the south Atlantic and south central states, but cases do occur each year in New York state, especially on Long Island. The average incubation period after an infected tick bite is seven days and results in fever, severe headache, and joint and body aches. Within a few days a spotted rash appears on the wrists and ankles and spreads to the palms, soles, and eventually to the rest of the body. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is treatable with antibiotics but can be fatal if not treated promptly. Rickettsia rickettsii can be transmitted to eggs. Consequently unfed larvae are capable of transmission, in addition to nymphs and adults. However, this species does not transmit Lyme disease.
IXODES COOKEI
Ixodes cookei has no official common name but it has been called the groundhog, woodchuck, or carnivore tick. Groundhog ticks are very similar in appearance to blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), thus microscope examination is required to properly distinguish between these two species. Ixodes cookei has been found to parasitize a wide variety of carnivores and rodents but can be especially abundant on groundhogs (Marmota monax). The groundhog tick rarely quests for hosts on vegetation. Rather, they are found in the burrow of their host. This tick is primarily considered a nuisance, but it has been associated with the transmission of a virus that causes Powassan encephalitis. Powassan encephalitis is rare, and just a handful of cases have been reported in New York state since its discovery in North America in 1954. This is probably a reflection of the low contact rate between humans and infected vectors. Infection with Powassan virus can cause inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and sometimes meningitis.
Brown dog ticks are reddish-brown with a dark brown scutum. Unfed females are about 3/16 inch (4.76mm) long. All stages feed almost exclusively on dogs and can become established in kennels. Although brown dog ticks can be found crawling on humans they rarely attach and feed on humans. This tick is considered a nuisance species and is not known to transmit disease-causing organisms to humans in the United States.
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