Thousands of Asian Longhorned Ticks Infest and Kill 5 Cows in NC

Five cows died in Surry County, North Carolina due to the self-cloning Asian longhorned tick. More than 1000 ticks were found on each cow. These ticks are capable of creating severe infestations on animal hosts. The cause of death was acute anemia, as the cows were drained of blood by the ticks. Asian longhorned ticks were first reported in the United States in 2017 in New Jersey and have spread to a total of 12 states. This is a warning to people who have pets or livestock to be vigilant to protect the animals from ticks. The longhorned tick is already known to transmit several human diseases, including spotted fever rickettsiosis, in its native East Asian countries – China, Japan and Australia. It may be only a matter of time before they become carriers of tick-borne diseases that affect humans.   Update on longicornis coming into the US from MMWR / November 30, 2018 / Vol. 67 / No. 47 Concurrent reexamination of archived historical samples showed that invasion occurred years earlier. Most importantly, ticks collected from a deer in West Virginia in 2010 and a dog in New Jersey in 2013 were retrospectively identified as H. longicornis. Click here for Fox 8 NC news story Click here for News & Observer article LDA Website: Longhorned Tick Now Confirmed: NJ, VA, WV, AR, NC, NY, PA, CT, NH, KY, MD, & TN