Disease Spreading Tick: Ixodes scapularis

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Integrated Tick Management

Have you heard several tick-related stories recently? Listened to predictions that we will see an increase in tick populations? Read an article on why we may be seeing a rise in Lyme disease? Watched a story about a new case of Powassan virus? A lot of information has surfaced on ticks in the last few year. While there are hundreds of species of ticks, there is one main culprit in spreading both of the above diseases to humans.

Female_Adult_Black-legged_deer_tick_Ixodes_scapularis_disease_testing-682083-edited.jpgIxodes scapularis, the black-legged tick or deer tick, is the main vector of Lyme disease and Powassan virus to humans. Black-legged ticks are born disease free, and it is during their first larval stage blood meal that the tick may acquire a disease from an infected host. White-footed mice and other small mammals are known in the Lyme disease cycle as the primary reservoir hosts carrying the disease and infecting the larval tick.

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The Lyme Disease Crisis: 3 Reasons the Northeast Is Most at Risk

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Warmer weather has arrived, along with new questions about where Lyme disease is most common and why the Northeast reports the highest number of U.S. cases each year.

According to the CDC, there are 30,000+ cases of Lyme disease reported each year. Since national Lyme surveillance began, in the early 1990s, the number of annual Lyme cases has increased. Seasonal variations have contributed to what appears to be a northward expansion. These shifts are suspected to be associated with global climate change. Increases in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, increases in extreme weather, and rising sea levels are capable of influencing the life cycle, distribution, and prevalence of vector-borne diseases by altering habitat availability and reproduction rates. Reasons contributing to the seasonal variability of tick activity and the probable northeast spread of Lyme disease are tick and host habitat range expansion, longer seasons for tick activity, and increased human exposure seasonally.

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