Vet Candy shares new research findings that help answer some questions about Ixodes scapularis, the deer tick. Puzzled by the ticks’ immune system, which keeps them safe from contracting pathogens themselves, a research team led by Univerisity of California’s San Francisco’s Seemay Chou identified a natural pathogen of ticks and established a mechanism for it.
“Ticks pass more microbes to humans, livestock, and other animals than any other known arthropod, but now their own vulnerabilities are on the table.”
Source: Vet Candy, December 14, 2020. Link. “This is a new way of thinking about how ticks interact with microbes,” said Chou. Microbes borne by ticks cause disease in humans and animals worldwide, but that’s only half the story, she said. “Their commensal is our pathogen, and our commensal is their pathogen.”
INSIGHTS: This is a wonderful testament to the natural curiosity of scientists and their persistence to discovery. Armed with this knowledge, one might begin to dream.