TICKS

Tick from an island fox.

Ticks

Ticks are found on the California Channel Islands. They can carry bacteria and viruses that can cause disease in humans, including Lyme disease.

In 2017, two tick-borne diseases were identified for the first time on the California Channel Island. Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) was found on both Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands, and a related disease, relapsing fever (Borrelia miyamotoi) was identified on Santa Rosa Island. Both diseases are known to impact dogs and humans. Understanding the extent of these tick-borne diseases is a current priority. Ticks are being collected from island foxes and pathology will be run on tick specimens to determine what viruses they carry.

• 2001. Crooks, Kevin et al. Ectoparasites of the Island Fox on Santa Cruz Island Journal of Wildlife Diseases 37(1):189-193, 2001. (Ixodes pacificus)