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27 May 2022 The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma maculatum (Ixodida: Ixodidae), and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in the Highly Urbanized Northeastern United States
Waheed I. Bajwa, Leonid Tsynman, Andrea M. Egizi, Rafal Tokarz, Lauren P. Maestas, Dina M. Fonseca
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Abstract

We report the multi-year collection of the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch (Acaridae: Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Staten Island, NewYork City (NYC) as well as their detection in Brooklyn, NYC, and in Atlantic and Cumberland counties in southern New Jersey, USA. The first and most common detections were of adults, however in Freshkills Park on Staten Island larvae were also collected in a following year. The presence of larvae indicates that adults are successfully finding hosts in Staten Island. While it is still unknown how A. americanum reached Staten Island, immatures of this species often parasitize migratory birds, which are now often seen in Freshkills Park. We describe the landscape features of the area in Staten Island where populations were highest and larvae were detected, which could have facilitated the establishment of A. maculatum. Notably, we also report the presence of human pathogens Rickettsia parkeri in 5/10 (50%) of adults tested and R. felis in 1/24 (4.17%) of larvae tested. In addition to established populations in Staten Island we found evidence of A. maculatum in NJ and other NYC boroughs, suggesting current or future establishment is possible. The failure thus far to detect established populations in these areas may be due to inherent difficulties in detecting low density, spatially heterogeneous incipient populations, which could require targeted surveillance efforts for this species. We discuss the consequences to public health of the establishment of A. maculatum and detection of two additional rickettsial pathogens in the densely populated northeastern United States.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Waheed I. Bajwa, Leonid Tsynman, Andrea M. Egizi, Rafal Tokarz, Lauren P. Maestas, and Dina M. Fonseca "The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma maculatum (Ixodida: Ixodidae), and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia in the Highly Urbanized Northeastern United States," Journal of Medical Entomology 59(4), 1434-1442, (27 May 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjac053
Received: 23 November 2021; Accepted: 9 April 2022; Published: 27 May 2022
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KEYWORDS
climate change
native-invader
tick-borne disease
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