A new report shows the first evidence in the U.S. of the invasive longhorned tick with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a potentially life-threatening pathogen, was found in recent years in Connecticut.
The tick was found in Fairfield in 2018, the report said.
The finding was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal through collaboration between the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the United States Department of Agriculture, CAES research scientist Goudarz Molaei said in a news release.
Since it was discovered in the U.S. in August 2017, the tick -- native to Eastern Asia -- has been found in at least 21 states, mostly in the east and northeast and District of Columbia, Molaei said.
"The first fully engorged human-parasitizing longhorned tick specimen was recorded by the CAES in 2018 from Fairfield, Connecticut, and the first populations of the tick were reported from this county in 2020. Since then, populations of longhorned ticks have expanded into a number of towns in Fairfield and New Haven counties. Additionally, individual tick specimens have been collected from New London and other counties," Molaei said.
The pathogen, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, is mostly spread by the lone star tick and causes flu-like symptoms, Molaei said.
There is no vaccine to prevent the ehrlichiosis, which can cause life-threatening symptoms like kidney failure and respiratory insufficiency in some cases if not treated quickly, Molaei said.
Keeping the tick from biting pets is another way to avoid the disease, as the longhorned tick feeds off a broad range of hosts and can pose a serious risk to domestic and wild animals and livestock, Molaei said.
"Although there are accounts of human tick bites and the tick has been collected from over 40 mammalian and bird species in the U.S., it is unclear how often this species will infest humans," Molaei said.
The tick has been known to carry pathogens that cause Lyme disease, Bourbon virus disease, theileriosis, and more, though it is unclear if it can spread all of these diseases agents, Molaei said.
Two cases of the disease were recorded in Connecticut from 2008 to 2019, and 28 have been reported between 2019 and 2023, Molaei said.