IdentifyUS

08/25/2026

https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/08/24/west-nile-virus-massachusetts

The state's first infection of the year was confirmed last week.

08/20/2026

Eastern equine encephalitis, which is typically transmitted to people through bites from infected mosquitoes, is rare but can result in "serious and potentially fatal disease," officials said. No human or animal cases of EEE have been detected yet this year, the Department of Public Health said.

08/07/2026

Identify your tick species first. We’ll tell you what kind bit you and will test for up to 25 pathogen types.

America needs a bigger plan to control its tick problem.

07/26/2026

An entomologist answers questions on the basics of the New World screwworm, efforts to re-eradicate it from the U.S., and what's fact versus fiction in the buzz around this re-emergent pest.

07/26/2026

A single bite from the lone star tick can trigger alpha-gal syndrome, causing the immune system to develop an allergy to red meat.

The tick feeds on mammals such as deer and can transfer a sugar molecule called alpha-gal in its saliva while biting. In some people, the immune system mistakenly begins treating that molecule as a threat, causing allergic reactions hours after eating beef, pork, lamb, or other mammalian products.

First recognized in the 2000s, alpha-gal syndrome is one of the few known allergies that can be triggered by a tick bite. The CDC estimates that up to 450,000 Americans may have developed the condition, and reported cases have increased as the lone star tick has expanded across the eastern and central United States.

There is no cure.

07/12/2026

Hey Chicagoans, if you think you have bedbugs send us a specimen for confirmation and identification to be sure.

Experts warn summer travelers to inspect hotel mattresses and furniture as bedbug activity surges across top U.S. cities hosting major events.

07/12/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/outbreaknewstoday/p/spain-reports-crimean-congo-hemorrhagic

Health officials in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León reported last month on a confirmed locally acquired Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) case in a 68-year-old man in Salamanca province.

07/11/2026

IdentifyUS is a local resource for tick identification and testing. We work directly with consumers and health care professionals to offer fast, expert and confidential information on all types of biting arthropods. If your health provider is sending your tick to a pathology lab to ID and test, it’s likely going through IdentifyUS behind the scenes. You can interface with us directly to offer patients a superior comprehensive report on their tick specimens and associated test results. https://idmybug.com/

https://substack.com//note/p-206499711

It’s the time of year for disease-carrying parasites

07/11/2026

IdentifyUS offers a comprehensive tick identification and testing resource that includes the Bourbon virus, Heartland disease and 28 other tick-borne pathogens.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced a request for $273.5 million in funding for research of ticks and tickborne diseases in the 2027 federal budget. The initiative would add $90 million more than what was allocated in the 2026 fiscal year toward these efforts.

What prompted Schumer’s request, however, was the case of Michael Larkin, a Suffolk County resident who was recently diagnosed with Bourbon virus — named for Bourbon County in Kansas, where it was first identified. Bourbon virus is a rare tickborne illness contracted from an infected lone star tick.

Larkin’s diagnosis came after the completion of a long research study conducted by infectious disease specialist Dr. Luis Marcos, alongside a team of colleagues at Stony Brook Medicine.

The study began five years ago. At the time, Marcos and his team took samples from patients who had received a tick bite. After sending the data to the Department of Health for research and results, three diagnoses were returned: one older Bourbon virus infection, one recent Bourbon virus infection (Larkin’s), and one Heartland virus infection — another rare disease carried by the lone star tick.

06/26/2026

Ticks have 4 life stages and live for about 2 years. They require three bloodmeals in order to survive and complete their life cycle. Nymph and adult ticks carry the highest risk of disease transmission. Nymphs pose a unique risk due to their small size and ability to feed for longer while going undetected. Keep in mind that deer do not play a role in disease transmission to ticks, as they do not carry or spread Lyme disease, but instead serve as important hosts to support deer tick populations.