The first case of a rare parasite-borne illness has been reported in the Northeast after a woman was bit by an invasive tick in Connecticut.
Scientists at Yale University reported the woman, 29, was infected with Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis after a Gulf Coast tick lodged itself to her neck.
R. parkeri rickettsiosis, a bacteria, produces a dark scab at the bite site, fevers, headaches, rashes and muscle aches, and can be life-threatening if not treated early.
While the woman has since recovered, experts are urging people in the Northeast to be on the look out for the invasive parasites that are spreading diseases into new territories.
The Gulf Coast tick is the only known carrier of R. parkeri bacteria in the US. These disease-spreading parasites are moving north and have infected a woman in Connecticut
Dr Goudarz Molaei, an associate clinical professor at the Yale School of Public Health, said: ‘Rising global temperatures, ecological changes, reforestation, and increases in commerce and travel are important underlying factors influencing the rate and extent of range expansion of ticks and associated pathogens.
‘It is anticipated that warming temperatures related to climate change may lead to the continued range expansion and abundance of several tick species, increasing their importance as emerging threats to humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife.’
Gulf Coast ticks are typically found around the Gulf Coast region, which includes coastal areas along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida.
But these blood-sucking parasites have moved further north in recent decades, spreading into the mid-Atlantic states and establishing populations from Delaware to Maryland.
Additional populations of this tick species with higher infections have also been reported in New York and New Jersey.
Recent population assessments have suggested that they’re now creeping into New England, making landfall in Rhode Island and Connecticut.
The Gulf Cost tick is the only known carrier of R. parkeri bacteria in the US.
They are easily distinguishable by the ornate markings on their red bodies.
Adult males will have clean, white lines in a web-like formation on the entire body and adult females will have bright, white markings on the dorsal shield.
When they bite humans or animals, they can cause diseases called spotted fever rickettsioses, or spotted fevers.
These diseases are typically non-life-threatening and can be treated with antibiotics. But in extreme cases, they can lead to deadly complications like organ damage, especially if not treated quickly.
Fortunately for the 29-year-old woman who was infected in Connecticut, the tick that bit her was sent to the a state facility that tests ticks for diseases.
Testing revealed that the tick was carrying R. parkeri, and a blood test found that the woman had been infected. She was given a course of antibiotics and recovered quickly.
As their name suggests, Gulf Coast ticks are typically found in the Gulf Coast. But in recent decades, they have expanded their range north, and are now present as far as New England
The life cycle of the Gulf Coast tick. This species is a three-host tick, which means it feeds on three different hosts during its life cycle
This case, though resolved quickly, is yet another piece of evidence to suggest that tick-borne illnesses are a growing threat to public health in the US.
Tick populations are expanding into new areas for a number of reasons.
As climate change increases average temperatures all over the world, colder regions of the US are becoming warmer. This increases the amount of time that ticks can remain active throughout the year, and allows them to thrive in places they couldn’t before.
‘For those native tick species that we have, like blacklegged ticks, climate change causes those tick species to move further north,’ Molaei told Gizmodo.
But when it comes to invasive species, like the Gulf Coast tick, it’s also about providing a conducive environment for them once they land in a new place, Molaei said.
Gulf Cost ticks’ preferred habitat is grassland, so one factor that could be driving their expansion into the Northeast is the restoration and preservation of grassland in states like Connecticut in New York, he explained.
Spotted fevers aren’t the only emerging tick-borne illnesses that have been sweeping across the US.
Babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus and eastern equine encephalitis are just some of the diseases that have infected higher than average numbers of people in recent years.
‘There is a need for doctors and patients in our state and throughout the northeastern U.S. to recognize that we are dealing with several invasive tick species, and each one of these tick species carry their own diseases,’ Molaei said.
