A tick-borne disease normally found in Southern states has been reported in Connecticut for the first time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the unpleasant disease called Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis is a spotted fever transmitted through infected mites and tick bites. It is similar to but milder than Rocky Mountain spotted fever , which can induce headaches, fever, rashes and muscle aches, according to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Florida town 'wiped off map' after destruction from 10-foot storm surge and 140 mph winds The deserted island deep in the Pacific where six teenagers were stranded for 15 months This is the first ever recorded case reported in the northeast, and it is usually found primarily in Florida but has steadily spread up the East Coast over the last 80 years, according to the CAES. Rising global temperatures, increased travel and technological changes are likely to be factors in the spread of R. parkeri rickettsiosis, said Dr.

Goudarz Molaei, director of CAES’ Passive Tick and Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance Program. Molaei said in a statement: “It is anticipated that warming temperatures related to climate change may lead to the continued range expansion and abundance of several tick species, increasing their importance as emerging threats to humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife.” The breed that spreads the nasty illness is called the Gulf Coast tick, which first made its home in Fairfield Cou.