Filling the Gap: Establishing a Statewide Tick and Tick-Borne Pathogen Surveillance Program

Individuals in the southeastern United States of America (USA) have an increasing risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. Land use changes, changing climate, and redistribution of both ticks and their hosts make systematic tick and tick-borne pathogen investigation crucial for public health protection. Prior to 2020, South Carolina had limited data on tick species distribution and tick infection rates. In this work, we describe establishment of a sustainable tick and tick-borne pathogen collaborative network for South Carolina. A major determinant of program success was sharing work effort between the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Public Health, and key partners including state park employees, local veterinarians, students, and volunteers. The program collected questing ticks from public lands and host-attached ticks from animal shelters. Amblyomma americanum was the most commonly collected tick, with highest density in South Carolina’s southern coastal region. A greater tick species diversity was seen in animal shelter collected versus questing ticks. Pathogen testing results yielded a high presence of Rickettsia amblyommatis among Am. americanum ticks with several other Rickettsia spp. detected including Rickettsia parkeri, Candidatus R. andeanae, R. montanensis, and R. asembonensis. Additional Rickettsiales detected included multiple Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species, with higher presence in the state’s northern region. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was detected in one questing Ixodes keiransi from the southern coastal region. The current report presents the initial steps for pathogen and tick species surveillance in South Carolina, providing successes and pitfalls as a model for other states and regions to establish similar efforts to improve national tick surveillance.