美国东北部(US)是蜱传疾病的热点。添加到已经复杂的矢量景观,在2017年,大量的侵袭性长钩耳病,亚洲长角蜱,在新泽西州(NJ)被发现,后来发现从康涅狄格州到乔治亚州都很普遍。在东北亚的本土范围内,H.longicornis被认为是人类致命病原体的重要媒介,伴侣动物,和牲畜。为了确定长H.longicornis的主要宿主,我们调查了新不伦瑞克省郊区三个不同地点的中小型哺乳动物,NJ.具体来说,我们在2021年5月至9月之间从11种不同的哺乳动物中收集了大约9,000个tick标本,属于9种。我们发现H.longicornis比以前认为的更频繁地以啮齿动物为食,这种侵袭性蜱很可能暴露于重要的地方性和人畜共患病原体。总的来说,我们获得了美国东北部常见的六种蜱的季节动态和摄食模式的详细信息,长骨血栓症,美洲弱视,Dermacentorvariabilis,肩cap肌,得克萨斯州Ixodes和Ixodescookei。我们发现,与以各种大小哺乳动物为食的肩胛骨不同,H.longicornis以寄主为食,遵循美洲曲霉的一般模式,偏爱更大的物种,如臭鼬,土拨鼠,还有浣熊.然而,我们的调查显示,与美国不同,H.longicornis在弗吉尼亚负鼠上达到高密度。总的来说,新入侵的H.longicornis是数量最多的蜱物种,在多种宿主物种和环境中,对其在蜱传病原体流行病学中的作用提出了重大问题,尤其是那些影响牲畜的人,伴侣动物和野生动物。总之,我们的研究结果为新泽西州哺乳动物宿主上的蜱物种组成以及长螺旋藻在全国范围内的扩张提供了有价值的见解。
The northeastern United States (US) is a hotspot for tick-borne diseases. Adding to an already complex vector landscape, in 2017 large populations of the invasive Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick, were detected in New Jersey (NJ) and later found to be widespread from Connecticut to Georgia. In its native range in northeastern Asia, H. longicornis is considered an important vector of deadly pathogens to humans, companion animals, and livestock. To identify the primary hosts of H. longicornis, we surveyed synanthropic small and medium-sized mammals in three different sites in suburban New Brunswick, NJ. Specifically, we collected approximately 9,000 tick specimens belonging to nine species from 11 different species of mammals sampled between May and September 2021. We found that H. longicornis feeds more frequently on rodents than previously thought, and that this invasive tick is likely exposed to important enzootic and zoonotic pathogens. Overall, we obtained detailed information about the seasonal dynamics and feeding patterns of six tick species common in the northeastern US, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes texanus and Ixodes cookei. We found that unlike I. scapularis that feeds on mammals of all sizes, H. longicornis feeds on hosts following the general pattern of A. americanum, favoring larger species such as skunks, groundhogs, and raccoons. However, our survey revealed that unlike A. americanum, H. longicornis reaches high densities on Virginia opossum. Overall, the newly invasive H. longicornis was the most numerous tick species, both on multiple host species and in the environment, raising significant questions regarding its role in the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens, especially those affecting livestock, companion animals and wildlife. In conclusion, our findings provide valuable insights into the tick species composition on mammalian hosts in NJ and the ongoing national expansion of H. longicornis.