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Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. The timing of the origin of ticks is uncertain, though the oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years old. Ticks are widely distributed around the world, especially in warm, humid climates.
Humans are not the preferred natural host, but the adult ticks, containing the bacterium known to cause Lyme disease, can attach to humans and allow for transmission of the bacterium. [5] Ticks are found around the world, with suggestions that climate change and globalization of travel and commerce may be broadening their scope of residence. [6]
The occurrence of ticks and tick-borne illnesses in humans is increasing. [7] Tick populations are spreading into new areas, in part due to climate change . [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Tick populations are also affected by changes in the populations of their hosts (e.g. deer, cattle, mice, lizards) and those hosts' predators (e.g. foxes).
Dermacentor variabilis, also known as the American dog tick or wood tick, is a species of tick that is known to carry bacteria responsible for several diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia (Francisella tularensis). It is one of the best-known hard ticks. Diseases are spread when it sucks blood from the host.
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The zebra tick or yellow back tick (Rhipicephalus pulchellus) is a species of hard tick.It is common in the Horn of Africa, with a habitat of the Rift Valley and eastward. It feeds upon a wide variety of species, including livestock, wild mammals, and humans, and can be a vector for various pathogens.
Vector-borne diseases like Heartland virus – that is, illnesses spread by carriers like ticks and mosquitoes – are on the rise, according to the CDC, and climate change is a major factor.
Nymphal ticks primarily feed on small animals and humans during the spring and early summer, while adult ticks are most active during the winter and seek out hosts from late fall to spring. [ 5 ] In order for a human to be infected by the bacterium, the tick carrying it must be attached for approximately 36 to 48 hours.