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First, there was the Batman. Who built the Bat cave. Then came the bat tick?
From my perspective, seeing another new tick showing up in New Jersey (after the Asian longhorned tick [Haemaphysalis longicornis] appeared a few years ago, not to mention the spread of the lone star tick across the Northeastern seaboard) is more evidence of our rapidly changing ecosystem. What pathogens are found in the bat tick?
"A range of vector-borne pathogens have been detected in bat ticks including piroplasms (Babesia vesperuginis, B. crassa, B. canis, Theileria capreoli, and T. orientalis), Borrelia (Borrelia burgdorferi, Bo. CPB1), Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Issykkul virus. Bo. burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme disease, was detected in A. vespertilionis collected between 1896 and 1994 from England and Wales. B. vesperuginis is hypothesized to be a vector-borne Babesia transmitted by A. vespertilionis that is virulent to some bat species". (Lv J, Fernández de Marco MDM, Goharriz H, et al. Detection of tick-borne bacteria and babesia with zoonotic potential in Argas (Carios) vespertilionis (Latreille, 1802) ticks from British bats. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):1865. Published 2018 Jan 30).
Does this mean humans can be infected with some of these bacteria and Babesia parasites? Possibly. "As A. vespertilionis is the most common bat tick worldwide and is known to bite humans, it could potentially transmit B. venatorum to humans as this is a known zoonotic pathogen. (Wilhelmsson P, et al. Ixodes ricinus ticks removed from humans in Northern Europe: seasonal patterns of infestation, attachment sites and duration of feeding. Parasit Vectors. 2013;6:362. ; Estrada-Pena A, Jongejan F. Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol. 1999;23:685–715.
Jiang JF, et al. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of 48 cases of “Babesia venatorum” infection in China: a descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015;15:196–203).
Alternatively, these Argasid ticks are positive for Babesia through contact with infected bats and may not be biological vectors. In either case, there is now a new tick on the block, that can potentially transmit pathogens, some of which may not be easily detectable on standard testing.
What else is there to say, but "Holy Bat tick, Batman!"
foxnews.com
'Bat tick' found in New Jersey for first time, researchers say
A
tick species associated with bats was reported in New Jersey for the
first time, researchers say, and humans, pets and livestock could be at
risk of infection.
