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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Author Spotlight: Controlled Human Exposure Model for Tick Research and Lyme Disease Studies
Published on: December 1, 2023
Identification of Hard Ticks in the United States: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Pathologists
Alvaro C Laga1, Thomas N Mather2,3, Roland J Duhaime3
1Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Abstract:
According to guidelines published by the Infectious Disease Society of America, Lyme disease prophylaxis is possible if a tick can be identified as Ixodes scapularis (nymphal or adult) within 72 hours of tick removal. However, a recent survey of medical practitioners indicates generally poor proficiency in tick identification. In this study, we provide a simple, practical guide to aid medical practitioners in identifying the most commonly encountered human biting ticks of North America.

