Climate and land-use change are dramatically altering the intricate relationship between humans, ticks, and pathogens. In the Northeast, warmer and more variable winters have reduced snowpack cover and lengthened tick activity periods. More recently, Nabbout et al. determined that pathogen-carrying ticks survived winter better than uninfected ticks. Furthermore, these environmental changes are associated with greater tick abundance and the ongoing spread of several tick species into new regions of the US. In New York State (NYS), we are particularly concerned about the emergence and spread of two tick species due to climate change: Amblyomma americanum, vector of Erhlichia and Alpha-Gal syndrome (red meat allergy), and Haemaphysalis longicornis, an invasive vector of Rickettsia and numerous viruses of undetermined pathogenicity. This species was recently introduced to the US from East Asia where it is a vector of the deadly Dabie bandavirus. In Western and Northern counties of NYS, winter warming trends have exceeded other seasons, which leaves those areas particularly vulnerable to overwintering tick survival. Thus, we will focus our sampling efforts in these locations.

The short-term impact of our proposed work (within the funding period) will be to inform healthcare workers in underserved communities of the tickborne pathogens circulating in those areas. The long-term impact will be to collect foundational data for grant proposals using our new approaches and collaboration to model the effects of climate change on vector-borne diseases over time. This will facilitate international partnerships in addition to local impact.