Skip main navigation

Military Health System

Clear Your Browser Cache

This website has recently undergone changes. Users finding unexpected concerns may care to clear their browser's cache to ensure a seamless experience.

Notice to Readers: Vector-borne Disease Branch Detects Borrelia miyamotoi in Human Tick Submission

Image of female Ixodes scapularis or deer tick. Female Ixodes scapularis tick, or Deer Tick, a primary vector for hard tick relapsing fever.

The Defense Centers Public Health–Aberdeen Vector-Borne Disease Branch has confirmed the presence of Borrelia miyamotoi, an emerging tick-borne pathogen that causes hard tick relapsing fever. This pathogen was detected for the first time at DCPH-A, following implementation of a new molecular test to detect and differentiate between the related agents of Lyme disease and HTRF. The pathogen was found in a human-biting tick submitted in January 2023 to the Military Tick Identification/Infection Confirmation Kit (MilTICK) Program.

MilTICK offers free testing and identification services for ticks removed from Department of Defense beneficiaries, including service members from all branches, civilians, contractors, retirees, and dependents. Any tick found biting an eligible person can be submitted to MilTICK by health care providers through tick kits available at DOD health care facilities, or by individuals through a simple mail-in process. Approximately 3,000 human-biting ticks are tested each year, with each tick species identified, assessed for duration of attachment, and tested for the relevant suite of human pathogens. Results are returned via email to the point of contact provided on the MilTICK form and are used to assess the risk of tick-borne disease to military personnel. Recent tick surveillance data can be accessed through the MilTICK CAC-enabled data dashboard at https://carepoint.health.mil/.

For additional information, or to request tick kits or services, contact the VBD Branch:

Phone: 410-436-5421 or 410-436-5425

Email: usarmy.apg.medcom-a.phc.mbx.tickcom@health.mil

Website: https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/envirohealth/epm/Pages/HumanTickTestKitProgram.aspx

You also may be interested in...

Article Around MHS
Jul 13, 2023

Entomologist Augments Warfighter Research Across Indo Pacific Region

U.S. Navy Lt. Thomas McGlynn, a medical entomologist at the Navy Entomology Center of Excellence, poses for a photo with Malaysian commissioned and noncommissioned officers, Malaysian public health officials, and researchers from the University of Malaysia Sabah during their training in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Feb. 9. (Photo: U.S. Navy Lt. Nicholas Johnston)

Naval Medical Research Unit 2 was established during World War II in Guam to conduct applied research in support of force health protection and has operated intermittently since 1955. Currently, NAMRU-2 is located in Singapore and acts as the center of a hub-and-spoke research model in multiple southeastern Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, ...

Article Around MHS
Jun 13, 2023

Bug Awareness Week: Small Bugs Pack a Pathogenic Punch

Ehrlichiosis is the general name used to describe diseases caused by the bacteria Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingii, or E. muris eauclairensis in the United States. These bacteria are spread to people primarily through the bite of infected ticks including the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) and the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis).

According to the DHA, everyone is vulnerable to diseases spread by infected insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas, also called vectors. Find out how you and you family can learn more about these pest as part of DHA's Bug Week celebration. And also get some great travel tips to keep your summer vacation pest-free.

Article Around MHS
Jun 13, 2023

MilTICK Study Finds Use of Permethrin-Treated Uniforms Can Reduce Tick-Borne Illness Risk

According to a DCPH-A fact sheet, the DOD Insect Repellent System is a safe and proven method to reduce disease and annoyance associated with insects.

A recent study conducted by biologists who manage the Department of Defense Military Tick Identification/Infection Confirmation Kit, or MilTICK, program, found that ticks submitted to the program by service members wearing permethrin-treated uniforms were significantly less likely to have become engorged.

Article Around MHS
Apr 11, 2023

Navy Entomology Center of Excellence Arms the Department of Defense’s Experts in the Fight for Public Health

U.S. Air Force Capt. Deanna Scheff (left) receiving pesticide application training from U.S. Air Force Ensign Benfry DeJesus (right) during the largest inter-agency pesticide certification course delivered in nearly five years on Naval Air Station Jacksonville. (Photo by U.S. Navy Lt. Nicholas Johnston)

Navy Entomology Center of Excellence staff trained and equipped active duty preventive medicine and civilian pest control personnel representing U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Army during the largest inter-agency pesticide certification course delivered in nearly five years on Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, Jan. 23.

Article Around MHS
Mar 30, 2023

Protecting the Warfighter's Health and Readiness, Now and Into the Future

An anopheles mosquito specimen sample sits under the microscope during a demonstration of the U.S. Army’s medical technology development and modernization efforts, Fort Detrick, Maryland, on Feb. 23. (Photo by Summer Abdoh, U.S. Army)

A cure for a debilitating and sometimes deadly disease, new treatments for working military dogs, a snakebite antidote, and a treatment for respiratory disease! See how years of research collaborations are providing protections for warfighters in remote places like never before.

Skip subpage navigation
Refine your search
Last Updated: July 11, 2023
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery