A new species of tick has been seen in the United States for the first time in 50 years after the Asian long-horned tick was found in several states along the Eastern Seaboard, The New York Times reports.
Public health experts told the newspaper that they are concerned about the tick, but not alarmed, as no American long-horned ticks here have been found carrying any human diseases. These new ticks, known as bush ticks in Australia and cattle ticks in New Zealand, pose a greater threat to livestock than to humans.
The tick first appeared in the U.S. last summer in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was described by officials from the state Department of Agriculture as “exotic.” This summer, the ticks have been found in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Arkansas.
"The jury’s still out on how big a threat this is," Dr. Ben Beard, the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, told the Times. "But we think it’s a very important question to address."
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