Neighbor News
Tick Fears in Hunterdon County, NJ UNFOUNDED
Hunterdon County Health Department Division Head Tadhgh Rainey discusses the East Asian tick
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 11, 2018
Contact: Tadhgh Rainey, Health Dept. Division Head
Find out what's happening in Flemingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Lisa Rasimowicz, MSN, RN, CIC, Director, Infection Prevention at Hunterdon Medical Center
Find out what's happening in Flemingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hunterdon County East Asian Tick Fears Unfounded
The Hunterdon County Division of Health and the Hunterdon Medical Center have advised media outlets that reports on the danger of the new invasive East Asian tick are overblown and unfounded.
“We have found that so far the East Asian tick is not a threat to people. We have no record of the tick biting people,” stated Tadhgh Rainey, an entomologist and the Hunterdon County Health Division Head.
Infestations associated with this tick have been extremely limited to date. There have been no reports of infestations on livestock other than the initial finding on a single sheep in 2017,” said Rainey.
Lisa Rasimowicz, MSN, RN, CIC, Director, Infection Prevention at Hunterdon Medical Center, added, “There have been no reports of human infection associated with this tick.”
“There have been no reports of the East Asian tick carrying severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in North America and is rare where it is found in the world,” Mr. Rainey said.
“Those planning on hiking, camping or visiting Hunterdon County parks should be vigilant as always with regard to removing ticks; however, the East Asian tick is not a threat to people,” Rainey concluded.
