County-level surveillance for the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, and its associated pathogen, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, in Kentucky

ElsevierVolume 14, Issue 1, January 2023, 102072Ticks and Tick-borne DiseasesAbstract

Kentucky experiences some of the highest incidence rates for ehrlichiosis nationwide. Ehrlichiosis is a bacterial infection caused primarily by the pathogen Ehrlichia chaffeensis and can be transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected tick, notably Amblyomma americanum. Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick, is common to Kentucky and much of the southeast, but has expanded farther north in recent years. As an abundant and aggressive nondiscriminatory biter, this species is of major public health concern for transmission of pathogens to humans. As this vector's range expands, surveillance remains a necessary tool providing data that allows researchers to track this expansion over time. The historical information on tick distribution in Kentucky is variable with very little data on a statewide scale. From January 2019 to December 2020, we conducted surveillance for A. americanum in Kentucky through field collections and the establishment of a statewide tick submission program with the help of the Kentucky Department for Public Health and screened for E. chaffeensis on a county-level throughout the state. We collected 5,726 A. americanum ticks in 77 counties and detected E. chaffeensis in 32 counties. The minimum infection rate was 1.8%. With the expansion of A. americanum and increasing cases of tick-borne diseases, future surveillance is needed to monitor this important tick vector over time.

Keywords

Ticks

Vector surveillance

Amblyomma americanum

Ehrlichia chaffeensis

Kentucky

Data Availability

Data will be made available on request.

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.

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