Dill interviewed for BDN report on lone star ticks
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Griffin Dill, a pest management specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for a report on lone star ticks. The lone star tick has been spreading into the Northeast region of the United States, with several cases of the tick being found in Maine. Dill and colleagues are trying to figure out whether these are isolated, or if the tick has established breeding populations in the state. “Thus far, we haven’t been able to find more. We’re thinking they’re coming into the state in the spring by migratory birds, then are getting dropped off throughout the state,” said Dill. In addition to potentially carrying life-threatening diseases, the lone star tick is known for transmitting a compound that can cause allergic reactions to red meat in a person who has been bitten by the tick, the BDN reports. Much is still unknown about the allergy, which Dill says requires the tick to ”first feed on a different type of mammal in a previous life cycle.” And the issue is just one small part of ongoing research about ticks and their implications for the residents of Maine. WGME (Channel 13 in Portland) and The County carried the BDN report. CBS News and NECN also reported on the ticks, quoting Dill.