Ticks Are Spreading in the US—and Taking New Diseases With Them
The vast majority of tick-borne disease goes unrecorded, meaning life-threatening pathogens are traveling under the radar to new locations.A DISEASE THAT is so rare in the United States that it is recognized in only about 40 people each year has taken the life of a person living in Maine. The cause, Powassan virus, is transmitted by ticks, which can pass it on within 15 minutes of biting. The virus causes neurological damage; one out of every 10 people who develop severe symptoms die of brain inflammation, and about half of those who recover experience long-term problems with memory, balance, and speech.
One death is always a tragedy, but one death in a country of hundreds of millions can feel like no more than a statistical blip. But to tick experts, the person in Maine—who hasn’t been identified or described—is a warning. Other than Lyme disease, tick-borne diseases are little known to the public and under-recognized by health care. That’s a problem, because research shows tick species are expanding into new areas and carrying greater amounts of pathogens as they move. And it’s especially a problem because the US has not set up a nationwide monitoring system that could identify where tick species exist, how they are traveling, and what diseases they carry.
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Maryn McKenna
10 May 2022