U.S. officials have told CBS that a new species of tick is spreading across the East Coast. Haemaphysalis longicornis, known as the longhorned tick, is originally from Asia. It has been unknown to the United States until last year when it was first discovered on a sheep in New Jersey. The most recent stop for the parasite is Pennsylvania, but it has also been spotted in Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and New York.
How they got here is a puzzle scientists are still trying to solve. The species is known to be invasive in New Zealand, Australia, and several Pacific islands. It is possible, according to the USDA, that the parasites were stowaways on horses, livestock, animals, or perhaps even people that came to the United States.
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