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ASIAN LONGHORNED TICK

 

Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann -- Ixodida:  Ixodidae

 

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       The Asian Longhorned Tick has been in North America for over a decade, but it was first found in Georgia in the southeastern United States in autumn of 1922.  This tick is well adapted to occupy its new habitat and has several features that make able to do so.   It is parthenogenetic with only females present and each female can lay 2,000 eggs that in turn hatch only into a females.  This then can result into explosive tick populations.  In Virginia ticks have been found that are naturally infected with Theileria orientalis, which is a serious pathogen of cattle.   H. longicrnis is expected to spread to the west coast of North America in due course.

 

       Drs. Nancy Hinkle & Michael Yabsley of the University of George reviewing the distribution and behavior of this tick notes that although it was first reported in continental North America in 2017 from a sheep in New Jersey, its presence is confirmed in West Virginia in 2010 from archived specimens.  It has since been reported in at least a dozen states along the eastern seaboard down to Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  Its mode of distribution is unknown, but it spreads rapidly.  Originally from northeast Asia, this tick was introduced to Australia and New Zealand over 100 years ago, where it established and became a major problem on cattle and sheep.  It presents a serious threat to livestock; in fact, in Australia it is known as “the cattle tick.”  But it appears this tick does not discriminate among many animal species.  It has already been found on over two dozen hosts, including birds, which can easily spread it.

 

       Haemaphysalis longicornis is of concern because it is not native to North America, and there are no known natural controls such as predators or parasites to suppress its numbers.  Animals have not developed any natural resistance to it, so it is likely to thrive on both wildlife and livestock.  Being parthenogenetic a single female introduced into an area can start a new population, with infestations readily spreading.  Each female produces over 2,000 eggs, so populations can rapidly increase.  Its potential role as a pathogen vector is of particular concern as well and its status as a livestock pest.  In its native range it can transmit numerous zoonotic pathogens including bacterial (e.g., species of Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Borrelia, Rickettia) and viral (e.g., Powassan virus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus) pathogens.  It can also transmit Babesia and Theileria spp. to livestock, and morbidity and mortality may be caused by very large tick burdens.

 

       Thus far by 2022 in the United States, no pathogens have been found in individuals tested, but there have been two notable events involving the tick and cattle.  In August 2017, seven cattle from Virginia with weakness and malaise died, and in September an additional cow presented with anemia and weakness.  This cow was diagnosed with Theileria orientalis Ikeda strain, which had not previously been reported in the US and is transmitted by the ticks in Asia and Australia (Oakes et al. 2019).  Recently, a cow in North Carolina died due to anemia related to an infestation with thousands this tick species. Neither T. orientalis nor Anaplasma marginale was detected in this cow. 

 

       Ticks are prone to dehydration so that they remain within a few inches of the ground. They may be found on the tips of grasses, reaching out with hooked claws.  As an animal walks by they attach on low-lying clothing and then ascend to higher parts of the body.  Protection is similar for most other tick species.  Dr. Hinkle advises that for humans, tuck pants into socks and treat pants below the knees with permethrin-containing products (like Permanone, Duranon, or Sawyer Insect Repellent).  Another important procedure for control is to conduct daily tick body checks of persons and pets that may have been exposed to ticks.  Because ticks are slow to start feeding it is advisable to remove them within 24 hours of attaching.  which will greatly reduce the risk of infection with any diseases the ticks might be carrying.  For positive identification ticks may be placed in a small bottle or plastic bag with denatured alcohol and sent to state or federal agencies or local public health facilities that have diagnostic specialists.  Specimens should bear labels of from which person or animal host they were obtained.

 

REFERENCES:

 

Beard, C. Ben;  James Occi, Denise L. Bonilla, Andrea M. Egizi, Dina M. Fonseca, James W. Mertins, Bryon P. Backenson, Waheed L. Bajwa, Alexis M. Barbarin, Matthew A.  Bertone & Justin Brown.  2018.  Multistate Infestation with the Exotic Disease–Vector Tick  Haemaphysalis longicornis  United States, August 2017–September 2018.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 67  (47):  1310–1313.

 

Bickerton, M., K. McSorley & A. Toledo.  2021.  A life stage-targeted acaricide application approach for the control of Haemaphysalis longicornis.  Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 12 (1):  101-581.

 

Cane, Rachel.  2010.  Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901 Profile New Zealand Biosecure Entomology Laboratory, April 2010, 9 pp.

 

Dinkel, K. D.,  D. R. Herndon,  S. M. Noh,  K. K. Lahmers,  S. M. Todd,  M. W. Ueti,  G. A. Scoles,  K. L. Mason  & L. M. Fry.  2021.  A U. S. isolate of Theileria orientalis, Ikeda genotype, is transmitted to cattle by the invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis.  Parasites & Vectors, 14 (1):  1-11.

 

Heath, A. C. G.  2016.  Biology, ecology and distribution of the tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae) in New Zealand.  New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 64 (1):  10-20.

 

Hinkle, Nancy C.  &  Michael J. Yabsley.  2019.  Asian Longhorned Tick in the Southeast.  College of Veterinary Medicine and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, Georgia. PDF.

 

Hoogstraal, H., F. H. Roberts, G. M. Kohls & Y. J. Tipton.  1968.  Review of Haemaphysalis (Kaiseriana) longicornis Neumann (resurrected) of Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, Japan, Korea, and northeastern China and USSR, and its parthenogenetic and bisexual populations (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae).  Journal of Parasitology 1968:  pp. 1197-1213.

 

Lee, Bruce Y.  2018.   New Jersey Is Dealing with a Tick Species That Is New to America.  Forbes. 22 April 2018.

 

Lee, M. R.,  D. Li,  S. J. Lee,  J. C. Kim,  S. Kim,  S. E. Park,  S. Baek,  T. Y. Shin,  D. H. Lee  &  J. S. Kim.  2019.  Use of Metarhizum anisopliae sl to control soil-dwelling longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis.  Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 2019, p. 107-230.

 

Lee, Mi-Jin & Joon-Seok Chae.  2010.  Molecular detection of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma bovis in the salivary glands from Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks.  Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 10 (4):  411–413.

 

Meng, Z.; L. P. Jiang, Q. Y.  Lu, S. Y.  Cheng, J. L.  Ye & L.  Zhan.  2008.  [Detection of co-infection with Lyme spirochetes and spotted fever group rickettsiae in a group of Haemaphysalis longicornis].  Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi (in Chinese). 29  (12):  1217–1220.

 

Oakes, V. J,  M. J. Yabsley,  D.  Schwartz,  T. LeRoith,  C. Bissett,  C. Broaddus,  J. L.  Schlater,  S. M. Todd,  K. M. Boes,  M. Brookhart  &  K. K. Lahmers.  2019.  Theileria orientalis Ikeda Genotype in Cattle, Virginia, USA.  Emerg. Infect. Dis. 25 (9):  1653-1659.

 

Park, G. H., H. K. Kim, W. G.  Lee, S. H. Cho  &  G. H. Kim,   2019.  Evaluation of the acaricidal activity of 63 commercialized pesticides against Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae).  Entomological Research 2019.

 

Rainey, T., J. L. Occi, R. G. Robbins & A. Egizi.  2018.  Discovery of Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) parasitizing a sheep in New Jersey, United States.  Journal of Medical Entomology, 55 (3):  757-759.

 

Singh, N. K.,  R. J. Miller, G. M. Klafke, J. A. Goolsby,  D. B. Thomas  &  A. A. P. de Leon.  2018.  In-vitro efficacy of a botanical acaricide and its active ingredients against larvae of susceptible and acaricide-resistant strains of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus Canestrini (Acari: Ixodidae). Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases  9 (2):  201-206.

 

Taylor, Dan.  2018.  Shocking discovery in New Jersey, authorities scrambling.  Morning Ticker. 22 April 2018.

 

Thompson, A. T.,  S. White,  D. Shaw,  A. Egizi,  K. Lahmers,  M. G. Ruder &  M. J. Yabsley.  2020.  Theileria orientalis Ikeda in host-seeking Haemaphysalis longicornis in Virginia, USA.  Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases 11 (10):  1450.