Targeted surveillance of tick-borne pathogens in adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) populations across the Upper Midwest

Tick-borne diseases cause a high morbidity in the USA with Ixodes scapularis as the main vector, responsible for the majority of tick-borne diseases in the USA. Understanding disease dynamics requires not just human disease surveillance but also surveillance of the ticks themselves. This study collected 355 I. scapularis adults from 16 sites across Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa by drag cloths during 2017–2019. Ticks were tested using 16S sequencing and targeted PCR to identify human relevant tick-borne disease agents. We detected 168 Borrelia burgdorferi positive, 2 Borrelia mayonii positive, 33 Anaplasma phagocytophilum Human Active positive, 1 Anaplasma phagocytophilum Variant-1 positive, 14 Ehrlichia muris positive and 5 Borrelia miyamotoi positive ticks. These results add surveillance data on adult I. scapularis adults in the Upper Midwest.