Emerg Infect DiseidEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control94524022627663Research ArticlePrevalence of tick-borne pathogens in Ixodes scapularis in a rural New Jersey County.VardeS.BeckleyJ.SchwartzI.New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.Jan-Mar1998419799

To assess the potential risk for other tick-borne diseases, we collected 100 adult Ixodes scapularis in Hunterdon County, a rapidly developing rural county in Lyme disease endemic western New Jersey. We tested the ticks by polymerase chain reaction for Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, and the rickettsial agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Fifty-five ticks were infected with at least one of the three pathogens: 43 with B. burgdorferi, five with B. microti, and 17 with the HGE agent. Ten ticks were coinfected with two of the pathogens. The results suggest that county residents are at considerable risk for infection by a tick-borne pathogen after an I. scapularis bite.