Abundance and infection rates of Ixodes scapularis nymphs collected from residential properties in Lyme disease-endemic areas of Connecticut, Maryland, and New York.

Abstract

Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the blacklegged tick, is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease (caused by Borrelia burgdorferi), the most common vector-borne disease in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2014). The blacklegged tick can also transmit Anaplasma phagocytophilum (the etiologic agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis), Babesia microti (the causative agent of babesiosis), Borrelia miyamotoi (a relapsing fever Borrelia), and deer tick virus. In the northeastern U.S., the highest risk of exposure to the blacklegged tick is likely peridomestic, due to fragmented forest landscapes and other land-use characteristics, as well as the intrusion of humans into prime habitat for blacklegged ticks and their hosts (Falco and Fish 1988, Maupin et al. 1991, Nicholson and Mather 1996, Brownstein et al. 2005). Despite this, most reports of tick abundance and infection rates focus primarily on ticks collected from public lands and forested research sites (Aliota et al. 2014, Barbour et al. 2009, Diuk-Wasser et al. 2012, Hersh et al. 2014, Keesing et al. 2014).