Invasive honeysuckle increase risk of tick-borne disease in suburbs

We often read about dreadful new zoonoses — animal diseases that are now infecting people — that have jumped species in distant parts of the world such as Asia or Africa and are now headed our way. But Missouri has its own new zoonoses, tick-borne diseases whose spread is encouraged by pest species such as white-tailed deer and invasive plants such as bush honeysuckle. In Missouri as in Africa or Asia, the loss of a biodiversity takes a toll in human health.