Exotic & Foreign Ticks &
Their Many Diseases
Are Spreading!
(This collection would scare Dracula!)
*
Another Reason To Get It Right...
1. Exotic ticks introduced into the United States on imported reptiles from 1962 to 2001 and their potential roles in international dissemination of diseases
"Since 1962, a total of 29 species of exotic ticks have been introduced into the United States on imported reptiles, with 17 species from the genus Amblyomma, 11 from the genus Aponomma and one from the genus Hyalomma.
In the absence of measures to control introduction of these importations, some exotic tick species will develop breeding colonies and become established as indigenous species and some tickborne diseases may be introduced to wreak havoc among susceptible native populations." SOURCE
2. "Ticks that have been removed from foreign cattle, horses, numerous kinds of zoo animals, animal products and miscellaneous items presented at ports of entry and in some cases within the United States represent nine genera and 37 species:
Amblyomma americanum, A. cajennense, A. dissimile, A. gemma, A. hebraeum, A. longirostre, A. maculatum, A. ovate, A. pomposum, A. rotundatum, A. testudinis, A. tholloni, A. variegatum, Boophilus annulatus, B. decolomtus, B. microplus.
Dermacentor nigrolineatus, D. nitens, D. parumapertus, D. reticulatus, Haemaphysatis leachii muhsami, Hyalomma atbiparmatum, H. anatolicum anatolicum, H. dromedarii, H. marginatum, H. rufipes, H. truncatum, Ixodes hexagonus, I. ricinus, I. scapularis, Ornithodoros amblus, Otobius megnini, Rhipicephalus bursa, R. evertsi, R. putcheltus, R. simus simus, and R. sanguineus." SOURCE
3. Introduction of potential heartwater vectors and other exotic ticks into Florida on imported reptiles.
"Exotic ticks were identified on 29 (91%) of 32 reptile premises in 18 counties of Florida. The ticks, found on a variety of imported tortoises, snakes, and monitor lizards, belonged to 4 Amblyomma species (A. marmoreum, Amblyomma nuttalli, Amblyomma sabanerae, and Amblyomma sparsum) and 4 Aponomma species (Aponomma exornatum, Aponomma flavomaculatum, Aponomma latum, and Aponomma varanensis). ...
The identifications of A. marmoreum on 8 premises in 7 counties, and of A. sparsum on 1 premises, are of great concern because both species are vectors of heartwater, a lethal disease of cattle, sheep, goats, and deer." SOURCE
4. 2004- "The presence of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strains in host-seeking lone star ticks at two sites in Florida suggests that A. americanum [lone star ticks] should still be considered a possible vector of B. burgdorferi sensu lato." SOURCE
5. "All of the major groups of pathogenic organisms have representatives that are transmitted by arthropod vectors and cause disease in domestic livestock or poultry
For example, over 400 arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have been recognized, including the etiologic agents of such major livestock diseases as African swine fever, Akabane disease, bovine ephemeral fever, the equine encephalitides, bluetongue, and epizootic hemorrhagic fever (16).
Rickettsial agents that are primarily tick-borne cause several extremely important livestock disease problems, including bovine and ovine anaplasmosis, heartwater, tick-borne fever, bovine infectious petechial fever, epizootic bovine abortion, Jembrana disease, and Q fever." SOURCE
6. 1965- California Encephalitis Virus Infection: A Case Report
"This case is the first report of human disease associated with this infection since the original studies in California and is the initial report of a case from Florida." SOURCE
7. Establishment of the tortoise tick Amblyomma marmoreum (Acari: Ixodidae) on a reptile-breeding facility in Florida.
"The tortoise tick Amblyomma marmoreum Koch was found to be established on a reptile facility in central Florida. Over a 5-mo period, 443 ticks were collected from tortoises, dogs, and vegetation. … The total numbers of ticks present, the presence of all life stages, and the slow development of this species indicate that this is not a recent infestation. The source of the infestation is unknown because no tortoises were imported or moved onto this premise within the previous year." SOURCE
8. “…various non-native tick-borne arboviruses could potentially infect any of several hundred human-feeding species of ticks present in the United States.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52939/
9. "West Nile infected ticks in the genera Argas, Hyalomma, and Ornithodoros have been collected in northern Africa and eastern Europe." SOURCE
10. "... discovery of large numbers of Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann (Ixodida: Ixodidae) infesting a sheep in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. All life stages were found on the sheep, which had no history of travel outside the country. H. longicornis is native to East Asia, and there are invasive populations in Australia, New Zealand and several Pacific islands, where this tick is a major livestock pest." SOURCE
11. "The Tacaribe virus (Arenaviridae) was never known to be in any species of ticks (only in fruit bats in Trinidad) until it was discovered recently in 0%- 25.1% of lone star ticks in three different state parks in central Florida. No one has a clue what the natural reservoir host is that keeps it alive- they never found it.
Discovered after 60 +/- years of no known existence anywhere, the virus causes bleeding under the skin, bleeding from eyes, nose, ears, etc., shock, kidney failure, seizures and coma that often ends in death. No known treatment, no vaccine." Source
Full article located here- http://www.phsource.us/PH/PALM/PDA/FOREIGN%20PESTS%20AND%20VECTORS%20OF%20ARTHROPOD-BORNE%20DISEASES.pdf
Last Updated- April 2019
Lucy Barnes