Since then, it has spread to more than 13 states, including East Tennessee. Gerhold’s research also involves other kinds of ticks, including invasive species like the longhorn tick, which emerged in the U.S. “If you’re walking on a trail, the most likely place for you to pick up a tick is just off the side of the trail,” he cautions. He recommends East Tennesseans always apply a preventative medicine to their pets, and that humans also check themselves for ticks after spending time outdoors. In dogs, luckily we have a vaccine,” Gerhold said. “We are no longer free of Lyme disease and I would suspect in the next five years or so, we would consider Knox County endemic, which means greater than 5% of dogs being positive. The black-legged deer ticks are now “well-established” in Oak Ridge, and testing in Claiborne and Campbell counties show coyotes testing positive for Lyme disease about 44% of the time. Lyme-disease carrying ticks are also cropping up in East Tennessee where, Gerhold said, they had not been just 10 years ago. It affects dogs, but does not infect humans, Gerhold said on a webcast. The heartworm, Angiostrongylus vasorum, also infected a coyote in Campbell County near the Kentucky border. “Snails and slugs are the … intermediate host, and it causes a really severe lung infection that often leads to fatality,” said Richard Gerhold, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Researchers found that the bear was harboring a non-native heartworm. The discovery occurred after a black bear was found dead in the Smoky Mountains about two weeks ago. Parasite-borne diseases are raising concerns among researchers after a new type of heartworm was recently discovered in East Tennessee.
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