绘制孤星蜱图是emory综合项目的又一步，该项目旨在追踪和监测格鲁吉亚的蜱类种类及其可能传播的疾病，包括由新出现的病原体引起的疾病。 在乔治亚州的人类身上发现的最常见的蜱虫是独星蜱，它是一种攻击性的血液探索者，可以通过叮咬传播危险的病原体。 埃默里大学的研究人员将现场数据与空间分析技术相结合，绘制了该州独星蜱的分布图。 《寄生虫与媒介》杂志发表了这项研究，该研究确定了与乔治亚州的这种蜱类——美洲蓝蜱相关的特定环境条件。 独星蜱最有可能出现的地区包括该州东南部平原和皮埃蒙特生态区的部分地区，包括亚特兰大大都会。 这项研究的第一作者、埃默里医学院和罗林斯公共卫生学院的医学博士/博士生stephaniebellman说：“我们发现这些区域含有独星蜱的甜蜜点。”。 “它们往往在海拔不太高或不太低的森林地区以及保持水分但不沼泽的土壤中更为普遍。 “这项研究以一平方公里为尺度绘制了分布图。 该分辨率远比目前可用的信息精细，后者仅限于县一级，不包括州。 埃默里大学环境科学系教授、该研究的高级作者贡扎洛·巴斯克斯·普罗科佩克说：“随着天气变暖，人们开始更多地进入户外，我们希望我们的数据可以用于针对蜱虫叮咬预防信息的目标地区。”。 vazquez-prokopec是通过蜱虫或蚊子等生物叮咬在人类和动物之间传播媒介传播疾病的领先专家。 已知独星蜱传播的疾病包括埃利希病、南部蜱相关皮疹（stari）和2009年在美国首次发现的心脏地带病毒病。 独星蜱的叮咬也与一种潜在的危及生命的对红肉和乳制品的过敏有关，这种过敏被称为阿尔法-半乳糖综合征。 绘制孤星蜱图是emory综合项目的又一步，该项目旨在追踪和监测格鲁吉亚的蜱类种类及其可能传播的疾病，包括由新出现的病原体引起的疾病。 蜱传疾病呈上升趋势，远远超过美国蚊子传播疾病的发病率。 虽然莱姆病是最常见的，但疾病控制和预防中心（cdc）目前在该国确认了18种蜱传疾病。 vazquez-prokopec说：“我们需要教育人们，他们成长的环境在蜱虫的数量和类型以及携带的病原体方面可能非常不同。”。 埃默里医学院病理与检验医学系助理教授annepiantadosi是这项研究的合著者。 合著者还包括五名进行实地调查的emory学生：elliefusett（她毕业后获得了环境科学/英里/小时的联合学位）；leah aeschleman和audrey long（他们后来获得了罗林斯公共卫生学院的公共卫生硕士学位）；乔西·皮尔奇克（生物学士毕业）和伊莎贝拉·罗斯克（埃默里大学环境科学专业大四学生）。 绘制独星蜱的普遍分布图气候变化助长了冬季的变暖和缩短，增加了一些蜱类更频繁繁殖和扩大活动范围的机会。 土地利用的变化也与蜱传疾病密切相关，因为越来越多的人类栖息地侵占了林区，自然栖息地的丧失迫使野生动物生活在更密集的种群中。 “乔治亚州总体上是蜱虫的天堂，”贝尔曼说，“因为我们有一个漫长的温暖季节和如此多样的栖息地。 一张成年雌性独星蜱的照片，美洲琥珀，在一片草地上。 （詹姆斯·加塔尼/cdc摄）。 研究人员决定首先集中精力绘制独星蜱的分布图，因为它是乔治亚州的优势蜱种，可以传播一系列病原体。 2019年，埃默里大学的研究人员发现，心脏地带病毒正在佐治亚州的孤星蜱中传播，这是一种新出现的病原体，目前尚不清楚。 独星蜱因其背部有一个明亮的黄白色斑点而得名，广泛分布在美国东南部、东部和中西部的林区。 它在若虫期很小，大约有芝麻籽那么大，成年后直径只有四分之一英寸。 尽管体型很小，但独星蜱在寻找血餐方面很有攻击性。 贝尔曼说：“它们能感觉到你呼出的二氧化碳和你在森林中运动时产生的振动。”。 “当你经过时，它们爬上植被，伸出腿抓住你。 在目前的研究中，贝尔曼带领一群被称为“蜱虫小组”的emory学生进行实地调查。 他们使用“标记”作为蜱虫采集技术。 一根绑在杆子上的白色法兰绒布在灌木丛中以八字形摆动。 镊子用于将法兰绒上发现的蜱虫转移到小瓶中。 2022年3月至7月，蜱虫小组成员调查了全州43个州立公园和野生动物管理区的198个地点。 分析将现场采样数据与包括植被类型、土地利用、气候、海拔和其他因素在内的环境变量相结合，这些因素是格鲁吉亚六个不同生态区的特征。 除了该州东北角的蓝岭山地生态区外，所有生态区都发现了独星蜱。 大多数蜱虫分布在山前、东南平原和南部沿海平原生态区的森林地区。 调查其他蜱虫物种研究人员鼓励人们遵循疾病预防控制中心的建议来预防蜱虫叮咬。 虽然独星蜱的地图为遇到该州最常见的人类叮咬蜱的可能性提供了指导，但研究人员还没有绘制出其他蜱种的地图。 例如，可以传播导致莱姆病的细菌的黑腿蜱也在乔治亚州建立。 然而，莱姆病在该州相对罕见，原因尚不清楚。 研究人员还在乔治亚州调查亚洲长角蜱。 亚洲长角蜱在中国、日本、俄罗斯和太平洋部分地区长期存在，2017年在美国新泽西州首次被发现，此后已传播到19个州。 2021年在乔治亚州皮肯斯县的农场动物身上发现。 亚洲长角蜱无性繁殖，一只雌性可以产下多达10万个卵，迅速产生大量以牲畜为食的后代。 如此多的蜱虫可以覆盖一只绵羊或奶牛，以至于血液的流失会削弱身体力量，或者在极端情况下会杀死动物。 虽然它通常与牲畜有关，但emory研究小组最近在乔治亚州怀特县的巴克浅滩野生动物管理区发现了亚洲长角蜱。 亚洲长角蜱携带可感染人类的细菌和病毒病原体，包括严重发烧伴血小板减少综合征病毒（sftsv），也被称为达比带状病毒。 2009年，中国出现了人类sfts（一种出血热）病例，此后亚洲其他地区也发现了这种病例，尽管美国没有。 同样令人担忧的是，心脏地带病毒与sfts在基因组上有相似之处，这表明亚洲长角蜱可能会传播这种新出现的病原体。 emory团队从2019年开始在乔治亚州中部采集的孤星蜱中发现了心脏地带病毒。 到2023年，他们几乎每年都会在该地区采集的至少一些蜱虫中发现心脏地带病毒。 （由于新冠肺炎大流行，他们在2020年没有进行收集。 )第一作者steph bellman（右）与其他emory学生和合著者在该领域，从左起：josie pilchik（已毕业并获得生物学学士学位）、isabella roeske（环境科学专业大四学生）、ellie fausett（已毕业，并获得环境科学/英里/小时联合学位）和audrey long（已从rollins公共卫生学院获得英里/小时学位）。 根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的最新统计数据，美国已经报告了60多例心脏病病例。 许多确诊病例严重到需要住院治疗，少数合并症患者已经死亡。 然而，人们认为可能感染心脏地带病毒的实际人数更高，因为这种病毒还不为人所知，而且很少要求进行检测。 使问题复杂化的是，心脏地带病毒的症状类似于许多瘙痒性疾病：发烧、疲劳、头痛、恶心、腹泻和肌肉或关节疼痛。 贝尔曼说：“人类感染心脏地带病毒的病例现在很罕见，但我们不知道这种情况是否会改变。”。 “我们需要收集更多的基线数据，了解它是如何在环境中传播的，这样我们就有了潜在的预防或限制它传播的证据。 “目前论文的研究是由美国资助的。 s。 农业部，国立卫生研究所，埃默里大学和埃默里mp3倡议和传染病跨规模培训计划。
mapping the lone star tick is another step in a comprehensive emory project to track and monitor the array of tick species in georgia and the diseases that they can spread — including those caused by emerging pathogens.the most common tick found on humans in georgia is the lone star tick an aggressive seeker of blood that can spread dangerous pathogens through its bites.emory university researchers combined field data with spatial-analysis techniques to map the distribution of the lone star tick across the state. the journal parasites & vectors published the research, which identifies specific environmental conditions associated with this tick species, amblyomma americanum, in georgia.the areas with the highest probability for the presence of lone star ticks include parts of the southeastern plains and piedmont ecoregions of the state, including metro atlanta.“we found that these regions contain sweet spots for the lone star tick,” says stephanie bellman, first author of the study and an md/phd student in emory’s school of medicine and rollins school of public health. “they tend to be more prevalent in forested areas of mid-elevation not too high or too low and in soils that retain moisture but are not swampy.”the study maps the distribution at the scale of one square kilometer. that resolution is far finer than the currently available information, which is limited to the county level and does not encompass the state.“as the weather warms and people start getting into the outdoors more, we hope our data can be used to target areas for tick-bite prevention messaging,” says gonzalo vazquez-prokopec, professor in emory’s department of environmental sciences and senior author of the study.vazquez-prokopec is a leading expert in vector-borne diseases infections transmitted among humans and animals by the bite of a living organism, such as a tick or a mosquito.diseases the lone star tick is known to transmit include ehrlichiosis, southern tick-associated rash illness (stari) and heartland virus disease which was first identified in the united states in 2009. the bite of the lone star tick is also associated with a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and dairy products known as alpha-gal syndrome.mapping the lone star tick is another step in a comprehensive emory project to track and monitor the array of tick species in georgia and the diseases that they can spread including those caused by emerging pathogens.tickborne diseases are on the rise, far surpassing the incidence of diseases spread by mosquitos in the united states. while lyme disease is the most common, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) currently recognizes 18 tickborne diseases in the country.“we need to educate people that the environment that they grew up in is likely very different in terms of the number and types of ticks and the pathogens that they are carrying,” vazquez-prokopec says.anne piantadosi, assistant professor in emory school of medicine’s department of pathology and laboratory medicine, is co-author of the study.co-authors also include five emory students who conducted fieldwork: ellie fausett (who has since graduated with a joint environmental sciences/mph degree); leah aeschleman and audrey long (who have since received master’s of public health degrees from rollins school of public health); josie pilchik, (who graduated with a bachelor’s in biology) and isabella roeske (an emory senior majoring in environmental sciences). mapping lone star tick prevalenceclimate change is fueling warmer and shorter winters, increasing opportunities for some species of ticks to breed more frequently and expand their ranges. land-use changes are also strongly associated with tickborne diseases, as more human habitats encroach on wooded areas and the loss of natural habitat forces wildlife to live in denser populations.“georgia is a tick haven in general,” bellman says, “since we have a long warm season and such a diversity of habitats.”a photo of an adult female lone star tick, ambylomma americanum, on a blade of grass. (photo by james gathany / cdc).the researchers decided to focus first on mapping the distribution of the lone star tick because it is the dominant tick species in georgia and can spread an array of pathogens. in 2019, the emory researchers found that heartland virus is circulating in lone star ticks in georgia, an emerging pathogen that is not well understood.named for a bright, yellowish-white spot on its back, the lone star tick is widely distributed in wooded areas across the southeast, eastern and midwest united states. it is tiny in the nymph stage it is about the size of a sesame seed and as an adult it is barely a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter.despite its tiny size, the lone star tick is aggressive in its quest for blood meals.“they can sense carbon dioxide from your exhaled breath and the vibrations from your movement in a forest,” bellman says. “they climb up onto vegetation and reach out their legs to grab onto you as you pass by.”for the current study, bellman led crews of emory students, known as “the tick team,” in field surveys. they used “flagging” as a tick-collection technique. a white flannel cloth attached to a pole is swished in a figure-eight motion through the underbrush. tweezers are used to transfer any ticks found on the flannel into a vial.tick team members surveyed 198 locations at 43 state parks and wildlife management areas across the state, from march to july 2022. analyses combined the site-sampling data with environmental variables including type of vegetation, land use, climate, elevation and other factors characteristic for six different ecoregions of georgia.lone star ticks were found in all of the ecoregions except for the mountainous blue ridge ecoregion in the northeast corner of the state. the majority of the ticks were found in forested areas of the piedmont, southeastern plains and southern coastal plains ecoregions. investigating other tick speciesthe researchers encourage people to follow the recommendations of the cdc for preventing tick bites. and while the map for the lone star tick provides guidance on the likelihood of encountering the most prevalent human-biting tick in the state, there are other tick species that the researchers have yet to map.the black-legged tick (ixodes scapularis), which can transmit the bacterium that causes lyme disease, for instance, is also established in georgia. lyme disease, however, is relatively uncommon in the state for reasons that are not yet well-understood.the researchers are also investigating the asian longhorned tick (haemaphysalislongicornis) in georgia. long established in china, japan, russia and parts of the pacific, the asian longhorned tick was first detected in the united states in 2017, in new jersey, and has since spread to 19 states. it was found on farm animals in pickens county, georgia in 2021.the asian longhorned tick reproduces asexually and a single female can generate as many as 100,000 eggs, rapidly producing massive amounts of offspring that feed on livestock. so many ticks can be covering a single sheep or cow that the loss of blood physically weakens or, in extreme cases, kills the animal.while it is often associated with livestock, the emory research team recently found asian longhorned ticks in the buck shoals wildlife management area in white county, georgia.the asian longhorned tick carries bacterial and viral pathogens that can infect humans, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (sftsv), also known as dabie bandavirus. human cases of sfts, a hemorrhagic fever, emerged in china in 2009 and have since been identified in other parts of asia, although not in the united states.also of concern is the fact that the heartland virus shares genomic similarities with sfts, which suggests the asian longhorn tick could potentially transmit this emerging pathogen.the emory team has been finding the heartland virus in lone star ticks collected from central georgia starting in 2019. they have continued to find heartland virus in at least some of the ticks collected from that area nearly annually through 2023. (they did not perform collections in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic.)first author steph bellman (right) in the field with fellow emory students and co-authors, from left: josie pilchik (who has since graduated with a bachelor’s in biology), isabella roeske (a senior majoring in environmental sciences), ellie fausett (who has since graduated with a joint environmental sciences/mph degree) and audrey long (who has since received an mph from rollins school of public health).more than 60 cases of heartland virus disease have been reported in the united states, according to the latest cdc statistics. many of the identified cases were severe enough to require hospitalization, and a few individuals with co-morbidities have died.the actual number of people who may have been infected with heartland virus is believed to be higher, however, since the virus is not well known and tests are rarely ordered for it. complicating the issue is the fact that symptoms of heartland virus are akin to those of many tickborne illnesses: fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, diarrhea and muscle or joint pain.“human cases of heartland virus are rare now, but we don’t know whether that could change,” bellman says. “we need to gather more baseline data and learn how it spreads in the environment so that we have the evidence we need to potentially prevent, or limit, its spread.”work on the current paper was funded by grants from the u.s. department of agriculture, national institutes of health, emory university and the emory mp3 initiative and infectious disease across scales training program.
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