Researchers were recently surprised after stumbling upon rabbit ticks in Maine that harbor a new type of bacteria related to a potentially life-threatening infection.
What's happening?
Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently discovered rabbit ticks in a backyard in Maine that carry a newly discovered bacteria related to a group of pathogens that can lead to potentially life-threatening spotted fever rickettsioses infections in humans. The most common and deadly SFR is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which has a mortality rate of 20-30% if not treated promptly, according to a summary of the findings in Phys.org.
After the initial backyard discovery, collaborators from the University of Maine sent the study's lead author Guang Xu 296 more rabbit ticks collected from 38 towns across nine counties in Maine — 6.1% of them tested positive for the new Rickettsia genotype.
Rabbit ticks are not common in Maine and the scientists called it "unusual" to discover them there in the first place. Still, "this wasn't a needle in a haystack," senior author Stephen Rich concluded. "It looks like lots of the rabbit ticks [in Maine] have this pathogen."
He aims to collaborate with Massachusetts rabbit hunters to collect more rabbit ticks from the region and investigate possible public health impacts.
"[It] is a very widespread tick," he added, as it can be encountered throughout the Americas. "And the potential for this to be a widespread problem, not necessarily a common problem, exists. So our research will be to dig in and figure it out."
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Why is this research important?
Rabbit ticks rarely bite humans, but there are ticks that feed on people and rabbits, the researchers say. That means the bacteria could move zoonotically from rabbits to people. For instance, a deer tick that fed on an infected rabbit could then infect a person after biting them.
Meanwhile, this isn't the only emerging threat when it comes to ticks. Lyme disease-carrying deer ticks are expanding their range westward as rising global temperatures are allowing them to remain active and survive for longer as the number of days with warm enough temperatures increases.
For instance, Montana officials recently announced that one resident found a Lyme disease-carrying deer tick on his dog there, an anomaly for the state. The species is also moving northward, according to scientists who say Lyme disease risk doubled in the Canadian province of Quebec and tripled in Manitoba between 2000 and 2015.
What's being done about tick-borne disease?
In addition to emerging research being conducted by scientists, there are some things people can do to reduce their exposure to ticks.
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Do you worry about getting diseases from bug bites?
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Absolutely 👍 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people to walk in the middle of trails to avoid these tiny external parasites and keep legs covered. Spraying footwear, clothing, and camping gear with insecticide that includes 0.5% permethrin can also help.
Plus, scientists are developing a tick-repelling drug for humans that works similar to the chewable tablets we give our dogs.
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