In New Jersey, found a dangerous tick, which has not previously been seen in the US

1 August 2017, the owner of the 12-year-old Icelandic sheep, went to the health department of Hunterdon County (New Jersey) to show them a strange phenomenon: having shaved the animal, he discovered that his skin was covered with thousands of ticks.

Фото: Depositphotos

Scientists were particularly concerned that these ticks belonged to a species that was not previously in the US, writes Forbes.

The ticks found on the sheep belonged to the species. Haemaphysalis longicornisAlso known as the East Asian or Long-tailed Tick. They are usually found in East Asia (Russia, Japan, China and Korea), New Zealand, Australia and on several Pacific Islands (New Caledonia, Fiji, Western Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu). But an infected sheep did not leave the territory of Hunterdon County, so scientists still do not know how ticks got into the United States.

After seeing the sheep, district health experts went to the farm where she lived to explore the area.

According to them, the number of mites in the pasture was so numerous that they began to crawl over the experts' pants only a few minutes after they arrived. On the body of each sheep were hundreds of ticks in all three stages of active life: larva, pupa, adult. The insects were mainly concentrated on the ears and the muzzle of the sheep, but at a lower concentration, the bloodsuckers spread throughout the body of the animals.

This was the first time that ticks in the USA lived in flocks, moreover, these insects reproduce in a non-sexually transmitted way.

In the case of ticks, it’s not so much the fact that they drink blood, but the fact that they are carriers of diseases. Mite Haemaphysalis longicornis is a spreading virus of SFTS, which causes severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (a condition characterized by a decrease in the number platelet count, which is accompanied by increased bleeding and problems with stopping bleeding), infection with this disease from ticks was recorded in some parts of China. In addition to fever and low platelets, people with SFTS can also develop gastrointestinal symptoms, decrease white blood cell count, and disrupt liver function. Up to 30,% of people with SFTS die, as a rule, due to the failure of several organs.

The East Asian tick also spreads bacteria: Rickettsia japonicathat can cause Japanese spotted fever; Theileria orientaliswhich can cause silyosis in cattle; and transfer some other microbes. In fact, all this should leave you ticked.

Until now, health officials have not found that long-tailed ticks in New Jersey tolerate any disease-causing microbes, but it is impossible to guarantee the safety of every insect.

In 2017, officials tried to eliminate ticks by washing sheep with chemicals, mowing high grass in the area and introducing additional control over the spread of ticks. They hoped that this type of tick would not survive the winter. However, on April 20, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture announced that, despite the cold winter, a new species of ticks was still found in New Jersey.

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