New species of ticks are moving to the Northeastern U.S.and bringing along unfriendly visitors with them.
The scientists behind this new research,publishedlast month in the journalEmerging Infectious Diseases, are now warning thatR.
parkerihas clearly made itself comfortable in Connecticut and likely beyond.
A female Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum). Female ticks feed on blood, making them vectors for many diseases.© Smith Collection/Gado via Getty
A substantial proportion of the ticks that his team discoveredabout 30%were also found to carryR.
parkeri, though no humanR.
parkeriinfections were reported in the area back then.
Still, Molaei suspected that it would only be a matter of time before such reports would show up.
Just two years later, his fears would be confirmed.
With his help, the womans blood was collected and also later confirmed to test positive forR.
The woman subsequently made a speedy recovery.
parkeriin the state doesnt bode well for the rest of us.
There are several reasons why this and other tickborne germs are widening their range.
With Gulf Coast ticks, its likely that they were brought to the Northeast via migratory birds.
His team at CAES and Yale are working on several projects to better understand the spread ofR.
But the teams research also shows that were not going to be lucky every time.
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