Researchers at Western Connecticut State University have confirmed there is an exotic new tick that could be feasting on animals in Connecticut.
The so-called Asian longhorned tick is an invasive species that can harm livestock but is not yet known to be a danger to humans in the United States. It has spread disease to people in China.
Hearst Connecticut Media reports the school’s Tickborne Disease Prevention Laboratory collected the tick in early July and testing confirmed the single specimen is the new species.
The longhorned tick — also called the cattle tick or bush tick — was recently confirmed across the state line in Westchester County.
Experts fear that it could to be spreading further into the Northeast where it could threaten more animals.
