A new kind of tick has reportedly found its way from Asia to the U.S. and it is raising concerns on the East Coast. The first new species to be discovered in the U.S. in about 50 years, the Asian long-horned tick has already been found in seven states on the eastern seaboard as well as in highly populated New York City suburbs.
According to an article in the Columbus Dispatch, so far, the new ticks have not been determined to be carrying diseases like many domestic ticks, however, the ticks reportedly do carry diseases in Asia that can be deadly around 15 percent of the time there.
Health officials are reportedly more concerned about the impact on livestock than any human threats as the tick is known to suck enough blood from young animals that they can die. Female ticks can reportedly lay hundreds of eggs after feeding on blood without mating.
The first long-horned tick was found last summer in western New Jersey. This summer, they have been found in parks and a golf course in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Essex and Middlesex as well as in grassy areas of Westchester County, New York. They were reported in Pennsylvania for the first time this month, and have been sighted in Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
They were found feeding on horses, dogs, deer, a calf, a sheep and an opossum. They do bite humans, but it is not clear how often.
The article states, people should use the same precautions that they do against domestic ticks, including using repellents and checking for ticks after walking through woods or tall grass.