@article{adams_figurskey_barbarin_reiskind_2024, title={Don't go chasing waterfalls: the phenology of Amblyomma americanum and increased collection of medically relevant ticks further away from hiking trails in the Piedmont of North Carolina, USA}, volume={5}, ISSN={["1938-2928"]}, DOI={10.1093/jme/tjae057}, abstractNote={Abstract Hiking is a popular recreational activity in North Carolina that may expose people to ticks and tick-borne pathogens. However, there is a lack of knowledge on how ticks are distributed on and near trails. Our study tested the hypothesis that ticks are more likely to be encountered when moving further away from trails by measuring differences in relative abundance at various distances. We tested 4 distances (middle of trail, edge of trail, 5 m, 20 m), as well as an on-trail and off-trail grouping. We collected significantly more ticks and ticks were more likely to be collected at our 20 m and 5 m sampling distances rather than directly on or adjacent to trails, and significantly more were collected during off-trail collections than on-trails. When looking only at Amblyomma americanum, post hoc comparisons revealed that significantly more juvenile stages were collected at 5 m and 20 m distances, but not for adults. Our monthly sampling also allowed us to describe the phenology of A. americanum in North Carolina, which is consistent with the phenology of this species in the southeastern United States with adults peaking May–Jun, nymphs Jun–Jul, and larvae in Jul–Aug. These results generally demonstrate the importance of utilizing established trails when hiking to decrease tick-borne disease risk and should be communicated to the public as a recommendation for reducing tick-encounter risk.}, journal={JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY}, author={Adams, Dayvion R. and Figurskey, Anastasia C. and Barbarin, Alexis M. and Reiskind, Michael H.}, year={2024}, month={May} }
 @article{adams_barbarin_reiskind_2024, title={New report of Haemaphysalis longicornis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia from field collections}, volume={7}, ISSN={["1938-2928"]}, DOI={10.1093/jme/tjae090}, abstractNote={Haemaphysalis longicornis (Neumann) was first established in New Jersey and has rapidly spread across most of the eastern United States. This tick has the potential to infest a wide variety of hosts and can reproduce quickly via parthenogenesis, presenting a new threat to animal health. Here we report the first record of a single H. longicornis tick in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, from incidental field collections of ticks. In addition to H. longicornis, we collected 787 Amblyomma americanum, 25 Dermacentor variabilis, 6 Ixodes affinis, 1 Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, and 1 Amblyomma maculatum using standard dragging and flagging techniques. The expansion of H. longicornis will have economic consequences for livestock producers in south-central Virginia, who must now manage this species. Enhanced surveillance is needed to fully understand its growing geographic distribution in the United States and the subsequent consequences of its spread.}, journal={JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY}, author={Adams, Dayvion R. and Barbarin, Alexis M. and Reiskind, Michael H.}, year={2024}, month={Jul} }