Ixodes cookei is the textbook vector of Powassan virus lineage 1 in eastern North America, but it almost never bites humans. Its host range is groundhogs, raccoons, mink, foxes, and weasels - so most human Powassan cases today actually come from Ixodes scapularis carrying lineage 2 (deer tick virus), not from I. cookei itself.
Ixodes marxi feeds primarily on tree squirrels and rarely bites humans, but it cycles Powassan virus lineage 1 through small mammals along…
Reported United States Powassan virus cases rose from a handful per year through the 1990s to roughly 30 to 50 per year by the early…
In a deer-tick mouse model, Powassan virus passed to naive mice after as little as 15 minutes of tick attachment. There appears to be no…
Ixodes scapularis takes three blood meals over a roughly two-year life cycle. Larvae and nymphs feed mainly on white-footed mice and other…
Ixodes pacificus is the western counterpart of Ixodes scapularis, found from British Columbia south through the Pacific states. It…
Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is the European cousin of Ixodes scapularis and the dominant Lyme vector across Europe from Portugal…