http:// newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/04/23/exotic-ticks-in-nj/
A tiny parasite could become a big problem this year in New Jersey. It’s the East Asian tick, sometimes called a longhorned or bush tick. The East Asian tick has never been seen before in the United States. It was first spotted on a sheep in Hunterdon County, and efforts to wipe it out have failed. Steps were taken to kill them using carbon dioxide traps, and a number of the pests survived.
East Asian ticks have been known to spread a deadly virus called SFTS (severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome). It is an emerging infectious disease that was first described in northeast and central China and now has also been discovered in Japan and South Korea.
SFTS has a fatality rate of 12% and as high as 30% in some areas. The major clinical symptoms of SFTS are fever, vomiting, diarrhea, multiple organ failure, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), leukopenia (low white blood cell count) and elevated liver enzyme levels.