Passive Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Adult Blacklegged Ticks () from Northeast Pennsylvania.

Monitoring the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wildlife is vital to public health. White-tailed deer () in the United States have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and their interactions with blacklegged ticks () raise the question of whether or not these ticks also carry SARS-CoV-2. In this study, 449 blacklegged ticks from Northeast Pennsylvania were collected in the fall of 2022 and tested via RT-qPCR for the presence of SARS-CoV-2.

Tick-Borne Pathogens in Questing Blacklegged Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) From Pike County, Pennsylvania.

Active surveillance was conducted by collecting questing ticks from vegetation through a 2-yr survey in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Over a thousand blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis Say) and American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis Say) were collected. A single specimen of the following species was collected: lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum L.

Surveillance for in Hunter-Harvested Wild-Elk () from Pennsylvania, USA (2016-2017).

is a tick-borne protozoal parasite which infects the erythrocytes of members of the families Cervidae and Bovidae. Infection can result in hemolytic anemia, lethargy, anorexia, and death. The reservoir host of is the white-tailed deer (); however, infections with overt disease have only been documented in reindeer (), caribou () and captive elk ().

Prevalence of Winter Ticks () in Hunter-Harvested Wild Elk () from Pennsylvania, USA (2017-2018).

Winter ticks () are an aggressive one-host tick that infest a wide-diversity of ungulates. Infestations can result in anemia, alopecia, emaciation, and death. Most notably, the winter tick has caused negative impacts to moose () populations in the northeast United States and Canada.

Winter Tick ()-Associated Dermatitis in a Wild Elk () in Pennsylvania, USA.

In 2017, a male elk () was found dead in Pennsylvania, US. The elk was in poor nutritional condition and had alopecia and ulcerative dermatitis throughout the neck and dorsum region associated with severe infestations. Histologically, there was severe chronic-active dermatitis with hyperkeratosis and crust formation.