UConn Lab Discovers 3rd Connecticut Case Of Asian Longhorned Tick

STORRS, CT — UConn's Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory has identified its third instance of the invasive Asian longhorned tick in the state.

The findings were announced Thursday by University of Connecticut officials.

The CVMDL identified one Asian longhorned tick this summer, submitted by someone in Fairfield. It marks the third case of the Asian longhorned tick the CVMDL has seen since it arrived in the United States in 2017.

The tick can be identified microscopically by the distinctive "horns" on the sides of its mouth.

The tick was not carrying any commonly tick-borne pathogens, including the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The CVMDL tested it for eight pathogens in total, officials said.

The CVMDL identified its first case of this tick in June 2020 and the second in August 2022.

Because of a relatively recent emergence in the U.S., there is "very limited" information on what pathogens the tick might carry and if they can even be transmitted to humans, according to Guillermo Risatti, the CVMDL director and a professor of pathobiology at UConn.

The potential health impact of the tick is significant, Risatti said. In China and Japan, the Asian longhorned tick has been known to transmit a virus that can cause "severe hemorrhagic fever," Risatti said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's a term that refers to a condition that affects many organ systems of the body, damages the overall cardiovascular system, and reduces the body's ability to function on its own.

The tick has also ravaged the dairy cow population in some regions of New Zealand and Australia, where the tick is an invasive species.

According to the CVMDL, the Asian longhorned tick is native to eastern Asia but has been found on humans, wildlife, livestock, and pets in the U.S. The tick was first identified in New Jersey in 2017 and has been spreading rapidly.

As of 2023, the tick has been identified in 19 states including Connecticut.

One of the major concerns, Risatti said, is that female Asian longhorned ticks can reproduce asexually, thus causing "massive" infestations.