First longhorned tick infected with life-threatening bacterium found in Fairfield County
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Tuesday says they've found the first evidence of the invasive longhorned tick infected with the potentially life-threatening Ehrlichia chaffeensis in the United States.
The tick was found in Fairfield County, a member of CAES said.
Invasive ticks spread across more Connecticut counties
According to CAES, Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a Gram-negative bacterium that mostly spreads through the lone star tick. It causes human monocytic ehrichiosis, which can start with a sudden high fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and fatigue within the first weeks of infection.
Symptoms may also progress to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss or confusion. If its not treated quickly, HME can led to life-threatening symptoms like kidney failure and respiratory insufficiency, CAES said.
Tick season 2025: What to know as disease risk rises
Dr. Goudarz Molaei, a research scientist and medical entomologist who also directs the CAES Passive Tick and Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance Program (aka Tick Testing Laboratory) said:
'The first fully engorged human-parasitizing longhorned tick specimen was recorded by the CAES in 2018 from Fairfield, Connecticut, and the first populations of the tick were reported from this county in 2020. Since then, populations of longhorned ticks have expanded into a number of towns in Fairfield and New Haven Counties. Additionally, individual tick specimens have been collected from New London and other counties.'
Native to eastern Asia, the longhorned tick thrives in warm and humid environments, CAES said.
The longhorned tick has spread to 21 states since first discovered in the United States in 2017. It's primarily found in the east and northeast.
It poses a serious danger to domestic and wild animals, especially livestock as it transmits a wide variety of pathogens, including ones that cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and more. However, CAES said it's unknown if the tick can spready many of those disease agents.
More information can be found on the Connecticut government website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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