Tick and tick-borne bacterial pathogen surveillance as a public health tool updating geographic distribution map of ticks in Kansas

The distribution of ticks and tick-borne diseases is not well-documented in Kansas despite bordering one of the greatest hotspots for such disease in the United States. The range and distribution of ticks have been changing over the past century because of anthropogenic factors such as climate change and overabundance of white-tailed deer predators. Two public natural areas with moderately high use in Crawford County, Kansas were sampled to determine the prevalence of ticks in the months of greatest tick and outdoors activities. Ticks were collected using a flagging technique that primarily promoted collecting questing ticks. Lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) were the most abundant tick species across both collection sites (90.5%, 202 males, 164 females, 70 nymphs) followed by American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis; 9.5%, 24 males, 22 females). The causal agents of ehrlichiosis, Ehrlichia ewingii and Ehrlichia chaffeensis, were detected at high rates (E. ewingii - 21.0%; E. chaffeensis - 12.9%) in pooled lone star tick samples. American dog ticks carried a lower proportion of only E. ewingii (12.5%). Rickettsia spp., which could include pathogenic Rickettsiae, were also detected in both species (lone star: 63.9%; American dog: 18.8%). These findings provide the basis to update public resources and better prepare local health departments and healthcare professionals. Continuing to monitor tick distributions and pathogen loads annually is vital as their range continually expands.