Northwest Iowa — Ticks are a common concern in the spring as more people head outdoors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report that says the Lone Star tick is carrying the Heartland virus, which can cause illness or even death for those with underlying conditions.
It’s an aggressive tick that can transmit many different pathogens to humans, including the Heartland virus. The virus has been found in six states — most recently in Georgia.
“The Lone Star tick, scientifically known as Amblyomma americanum, is a pretty aggressive biting tick that we’ve actually known about since 1758. That was when it was first described. It has been around for a long time, but its numbers have been increasing. In the past few decades, it’s gone from just primarily the southern areas of the U.S. to the central U.S, the Southeast, the Northeast, and even as far up as Wisconsin,” says Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology Laboratory in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.
No other tick is known to carry the Heartland virus, but Dr. Pritt says ticks are in just about every part of the U.S. Depending on the part of the country, those ticks can transmit several harmful pathogens.
Lyme disease is the No. 1 tick-borne disease in North America. It’s caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii.
Watch: Dr. Bobbi Pritt talks about the Lone Star tick and bite prevention strategies.
Story, and video courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.
Image source for photo at top of story: Wikimedia Commons
