Rapid Discovery and Detection of Haemaphysalis longicornis through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network

Rebecca T Trout Fryxell¹, Dené N Vann², Rebecca A Butler¹, Dave J Paulsen¹, Jennifer G Chandler¹, Micah P Willis³, Heidi M Wyrosdick², John J Schaefer², Richard W Gerhold², Daniel M Grove⁴, Jennie Z Ivey⁵, Kevin W Thompson⁶, Roger D Applegate⁷, Joy Sweaney⁷, Sterling Daniels⁷, Samantha Beaty⁸, Douglas Balthaser⁸, James D Freye 2nd⁹, James W Mertins¹⁰, Denise L Bonilla¹¹, Kevin Lahmers¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
³ Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁴ Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁵ Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁶ Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁷ Wildlife and Forestry Division, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, TN 37211, USA.
⁸ State Veterinarians' Office, Ellington Agricultural Center, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Nashville, TN 37220, USA.
⁹ Tennessee Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Madison, TN 37220, USA.
¹⁰ National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
¹¹ Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
¹² Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services and Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.

PMID: 34360274
PMCID: PMC8345789
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18157980

Rapid Discovery and Detection of Haemaphysalis longicornis through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network

Rebecca T Trout Fryxell et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021.

. 2021 Jul 28;18(15):7980.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph18157980.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
³ Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁴ Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁵ Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁶ Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁷ Wildlife and Forestry Division, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, TN 37211, USA.
⁸ State Veterinarians' Office, Ellington Agricultural Center, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Nashville, TN 37220, USA.
⁹ Tennessee Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Madison, TN 37220, USA.
¹⁰ National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
¹¹ Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA.
¹² Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services and Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, VA Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.

PMID: 34360274
PMCID: PMC8345789
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18157980

Abstract

Between March 2019 and February 2020, Asian long-horned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901) were discovered and collected for the first time in one middle and seven eastern Tennessee counties, facilitated by a newly developed passive and collaborative tick-surveillance network. Network collaborators included federal, state, county, university, and private resource personnel working with companion animals, livestock, and wildlife. Specimens were collected primarily from dogs and cattle, with initial detections of female adult stage ticks by stakeholders associated with parasitology positions (e.g., entomologists and veterinary parasitologists). Initial county tick detections were confirmed with morphological and molecular identifications, and then screened for the presence of animal-associated pathogens (Anaplasma marginale, Babesia species, Ehrlichia species, and Theileria orientalis), for which all tests were negative. Herein, we describe the identification and confirmation of these tick specimens as well as other results of the surveillance collaboration.

Keywords: OneHealth; collaboration; detection; distribution zoonoses; tick.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Seasonal distribution of *Haemaphysalis longicornis* (red) and other ticks (light gray) received at University of Tennessee from statewide cooperating network collectors (dark gray), 2019–2020.

**Figure 2**
Known occurrence of *Haemaphysalis longicornis* in Tennessee, USA, as determined from samples submitted to the University of Tennessee by a cooperating statewide network of collectors, 2019–2020. We successfully reached 67 counties (gray) of the 95 counties in Tennessee and were able to identify established *Haemaphysalis longicornis* populations in Union, Roane, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties (dotted) and detect populations in Knox, Claiborne, Putnam, and Sevier Counties (striped) within this study period.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Rapid Discovery and Detection of Haemaphysalis longicornis through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network

Affiliations

Rapid Discovery and Detection of Haemaphysalis longicornis through the Use of Passive Surveillance and Collaboration: Building a State Tick-Surveillance Network

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical