In the picturesque mountains of Condon, Montana, biologist Grant Hokit is conducting a serious survey in an unassuming meadow — he’s hunting for ticks.
Equipped with a handcrafted tool constructed from plastic pipes and a large piece of flannel cloth, Hokit sweeps the cloth over grass and shrubs as he searches for “questing” ticks that may latch onto his equipment.
“We got one,” he announces with a hint of excitement after successfully capturing a tick clinging to the sedge grass.
With careful precision, he transfers it into a vial, where it will eventually make its way back to his lab in Helena for identification. The expectation is that most of the ticks collected will be Rocky Mountain wood ticks, but Hokit is also on the lookout for new species making their way into the state.
The urgency of this research is heightened by the impact of human-driven climate change. As winters shorten, ticks are hibernating for less time, leading to a longer active season where they can attach themselves to both animals and humans, potentially spreading diseases as they establish new territories.
Earlier this year, Hokit made a notable discovery: deer ticks, a species notorious for carrying Lyme disease, were found for the first time in northeastern Montana.
This discovery is crucial for healthcare providers in the region.
“Often, patients don’t realize they’ve been bitten by a tick until they’re already feeling unwell,” says Dr. Neil Ku, an infectious disease specialist at Billings Clinic in eastern Montana.
Symptoms of tick-borne illnesses can vary, often resembling other types of infections.
According to Dr. Ku, symptoms such as fever, chills, and feeling generally unwell may lead patients to medical facilities without connecting their condition to a tick bite.
This underscores the importance of knowing which tick species are present in Montana, as information on local tick populations can aid healthcare providers in diagnosing tick-related illnesses.
Devon Cozart, a zoonotic illness and vector-borne disease epidemiologist with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, emphasizes that increased surveillance of tick species will enhance the quality of care patients receive.
Cozart is involved in collecting and testing ticks from field surveys, aiming to determine whether these pests are carrying any pathogens that could pose risks to human health.
The risks associated with tick bites are influenced by not just the tick species but also the type of mammal they feed upon.
For example, certain rodents may harbor pathogens such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can then be transmitted to ticks when they feed on the infected hosts.
In this context, it becomes critical for medical providers to understand the local prevalence of diseases transmitted by ticks, which can differ across regions in Montana.
However, tick surveillance is not uniform across the country. A 2023 survey revealed that approximately a quarter of health departments nationwide engage in some level of tick monitoring.
Chelsea Gridley-Smith, director of environmental health at the National Association of City and County Health Officials, points out the disparities in tick surveillance methods.
In many cases, local health departments may rely on a more passive approach, encouraging concerned individuals, veterinarians, and physicians to collect and submit ticks for identification.
While this method provides some region-specific information, it falls short of giving a comprehensive understanding of tick populations and their pathogen-carrying frequencies, Gridley-Smith argues.
Despite growing interest in more robust tick surveillance systems, securing adequate funding remains a challenge.
Many local and state health departments could face difficulties as federal public health grants from agencies like the CDC potentially diminish over time.
Montana currently receives annual federal funding of about $60,000 for tick and mosquito surveillance, with the bulk allocated to mosquito projects, thereby limiting the resources available for tick monitoring.
As a result, Hokit faces constraints in surveying diverse locations across the expansive state of Montana.
While he has identified deer ticks in two counties, he lacks the necessary data to assess whether these ticks are reproducing in local populations.
To address this gap, Hokit employs data based on climate and vegetation patterns to predict potential areas where deer ticks might thrive, with particular focus on regions like the Flathead Valley.
His goal is to narrow down subsequent surveys so the public can be informed about the presence of deer ticks and the diseases they may carry as they expand into Montana’s ecosystem.
image source from：npr
