Since 2014, undergraduate and graduate researchers in the EWU Disease Ecology Lab have collected ticks at several locations at the nearby Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. The only two species we have collected so far are the American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni). These two tick species have never been documented to vector the Borrelia bacteria causing Lyme disease, and we have yet to find any Ixodes ticks, which are vectors on the western side of Washington state. Therefore, the risk of acquiring Lyme disease in our area seems to be minimal. However, the two tick species that we have found are capable of transmitting the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii, which causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; as well as Franciscella tularensiensis, which causes tularemia. Tick paralysis, which is an extreme allergic reaction to tick-bites in dogs, is also a concern. In collaboration with Dr. Luis Matos at EWU, we tested about a hundred ticks for Rickettsia rickettsii and we did find the bacteria in several ticks, at a specific location on the public use area of the Refuge. Therefore, there is a potential risk of acquiring Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for visitors.
Eastern Washington University
