Of the many different tick species found throughout the world, only a select few bite and transmit disease to people. Of the ticks that bite people, different species of ticks transmit different diseases. Below are the ticks found in New York State that can carry and transmit a disease :
- American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) –
Transmits: Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
- Blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) –
Transmits: Borrelia burgdorferi and B. mayonii (which cause Lyme disease), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (anaplasmosis), B. miyamotoi disease (a form of relapsing fever), Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis (ehrlichiosis), Babesia microti (babesiosis), and Powassan virus (Powassan virus disease).
- Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) –
Transmits: Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii (which cause human ehrlichiosis), Heartland virus, tularemia, and STARI.
- Asian longhorned tick (new tick in the United States)
*Research on these ticks is ongoing*
Available info: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/longhorned-tick/index.html
Avoiding Ticks:
- On people: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html
- On pets: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_pets.html
- In the yard: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/in_the_yard.html
Tick Removal: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html
Symptoms of Tickborne Illness: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/symptoms.html
Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/
Other resources:
- Healthy Ulster County Network: https://ulstercountyny.gov/health/be-tick-free-ulster-county
- New York State Department of Health: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/
