Scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station say ticks are off to a fast start this year.
“On Monday, we received over 100 tick submissions,” said Dr. Goudarz Molaei, a research scientist and medical entomologist who runs the Experiment Station’s Tick Testing Program.
Molaei’s lab receives ticks that were found attached to Connecticut residents and submitted via local health departments, and then tests them for pathogens. The service is free of charge.
“Usually when we receive over 100 tick submissions per day, that indicates that we are at peak tick activity,” he said. “That usually occurs in the months of October and November or in May and June.”
“Despite our expectation, or public expectation, that the past rather cold winter would put some dent on tick populations, we are not seeing that,” Molaei said. “This time of the year, considering this is just the beginning of higher tick activity and we haven't reached the peak, this number is quite disconcerting.”
Molaei said the tick samples are also testing positive for Lyme disease at a higher-than-average rate of 40%.
“We are comparing that 40% to the average prevalence of infection in ticks for the past couple of decades, or longer than that, which is about 32%,” Molaei said.
Molaei said the reasons for the upticks in activity and infection rates are complex, but that climate change is playing a role.
“Temperature, humidity, vegetation, habitat type: all of these are changing as the result of climate change,” Molaei said. “We do see the impact of, or influence of, all these factors in tick population, and, further, in the prevalence of infection.”
Molaei said the most common species of tick around the state are black-legged “deer” ticks and American dog ticks, but that invasive lone star ticks, Gulf Coast ticks, and longhorned ticks are also present, particularly in the coastal areas of Fairfield and New Haven counties.
“These ticks are capable of transmitting their own suite of pathogens,” Molaei said.
Dr. Jason White, director of the Experiment Station, said Connecticut residents who spend time outdoors should be sure to take precautions.
“Using tick repellents when hiking or camping and conducting tick checks remain the best ways to reduce the risk of contracting tick-borne diseases,” White said.
“Connecticut residents are also encouraged to submit ticks they have removed from their bodies to our laboratory for species identification and testing,” he said. “This allows them to make informed decisions concerning diagnosis and treatment in consultation with their healthcare providers.”
