WestConn identifies Asian longhorned ticks in beach area
“... the WCSU research team yesterday conducted surveillance sampling of the overflow grass parking areas of Penfield Beach and various areas at Jennings Beach and found a significant number of these ticks in these areas, indicating that these ticks are now well established in the Fairfield Beach area.” Fairfield Health Department
FAIRFIELD — Experts have found a “significant number” of Asian longhorned ticks in the Fairfield Beach area, health officials said.
In a news release, the Fairfield Health Department said researchers from Western Connecticut State University’s Tickborne Disease Prevention Laboratory identified several Asian longhorned ticks from a dog of a Fairfield beach area resident.
“Due to this finding, the WCSU research team yesterday conducted surveillance sampling of the overflow grass parking areas of Penfield Beach and various areas at Jennings Beach and found a significant number of these ticks in these areas, indicating that these ticks are now well established in the Fairfield Beach area,” the release said on June 21.
While Asian longhorned ticks have transmitted disease in other countries, the department said they are not known to transmit any diseases to humans or pets in the U.S. at this time. It said these ticks can be a concern to livestock, and at some point in the future, they may spread diseases in the U.S.
“The town is working with the WCSU research team to implement recommended mitigation strategies and the town has already begun the process of trimming back bushes, grasses and other plants from beach area sidewalks and other walking areas to reduce the risk of ticks attaching to people and pets,” the department said.
According to the health
department, this type of tick was first discovered in the United States in 2017 in New Jersey, but later research found specimens from as early as 2010 in West Virginia. The first of these ticks in Connecticut were found in 2020 and six have been identified in Fairfield since September.
“This tick is particularly problematic as the female can lay eggs and reproduce without mating, creating large populations of ticks in an area relatively quickly,” the health department said. “After using areas
where there are significant populations of ALT’s present, they can be found in large numbers on people and pets. According to experts, while these ticks will bite humans, they are not as attracted to human skin as compared to other well-known ticks.”
With that in mind, the health department is urging residents to take precautions to prevent tick bites anywhere in town, including the beach area, when one might come in contact with grassy, brushy or wooded areas where
ticks typically live.
For more information on Asian longhorned ticks, please visit the CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/ longhorned-tick/index.html. For more information on the WCSU Tickborne Disease Prevention Laboratory, please visit their website: https://www.wcsuticklab.com/. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Fairfield Health Department at 203-256-3020.