Abstract. Tick-borne disease surveillance and research rely on resource-effective methods for tick collection. This study compared the respective performances of several trapping methods in a mixed grassland-forest habitat in western Tennessee. To test for temporal differences in effectiveness, sites were sampled monthly (April-August 2013) using dry ice, dragging, flagging, sweep netting, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) dragging and CO 2 flagging methods. To evaluate the effect of habitat on method effectiveness, four methods (dragging, CO 2 dragging, CO 2 flagging and dry ice) were compared in four habitat types (bottomland deciduous, upland deciduous, coniferous and grassland) in June 2014. In the temporal comparison, ticks were found to be most abundant in April and May, and there was a significant sampling period and method interaction, such that method effectiveness varied across sampling period. Sweep netting was significantly less effective than the other methods. In the habitat comparison, dry ice trap collections represented the most effective method in upland deciduous and coniferous habitats. Flagging using CO 2 was significantly less effective than CO 2 dragging and dragging in bottomland deciduous habitats. The success of the various collection methods did not differ significantly within grassland habitats. Overall, dry ice trapping and dragging were the most effective methods for tick collection across time and habitat.
Anaplasma marginale is the causative agent for bovine anaplasmosis (BA) and Ehrlichia ruminantium is the causative agent for heartwater, 2 devastating diseases of cattle. BA is common in the United States and frequently reported in western Tennessee cattle; however, cases of heartwater are not yet established in the continental United States. Because both pathogens are transmitted via the bites of infected ticks, the objective of this study was to survey cattle and pastures for ticks and for each pathogen. University of Tennessee AgResearch has 7 research and education centers (REC) located throughout the state at which they manage cattle. Ticks were collected from selected cattle (every fourth to sixth animal) and pastures (via dragging) associated with the herd from each REC during the summer of 2013. A total of 512 ticks were collected from cattle (n = 386) and pastures (n = 126) and were PCR-screened for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia using genus-specific primers. Collections consisted of 398 (77.7%) Amblyomma americanum, 84 (16.4%) Amblyomma maculatum, and 30 (5.9%) Dermacentor variabilis. Ticks were not recovered from pastures or cattle east of the Tennessee Plateau. The North American vectors for An. marginale and E. ruminantium were identified (D. variabilis and A. maculatum, respectively), but neither pathogen was recovered. A large proportion of ticks were collected from cattle and, of these, a majority were attached to their host (compared to questing on their host or engorged on the host). Four A. americanum were positive for Ehrlichia spp. (Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Panola Mountain Ehrlichia), all in western Tennessee. With the identification of a few Ehrlichia infections in cattle-associated ticks and current A. marginale rates in Tennessee beef cattle nearing 11%, additional research is needed to establish baseline tick, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia data for future management studies.
Amblyomma maculatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae) is established in western Tennessee, a region with increased risk for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis. This tick transmits Rickettsia parkeri to humans, likely contributing to cases of rickettsiosis in the region. The objective was to determine pathogen associations within questing and host-collected A. maculatum, and identify ecological factors associated with pathogen infection that may increase the effectiveness of surveillance methods. Of 265 ticks tested, 60 (22.6%) were infected with R. parkeri, and 15 (5.7%) with Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, a Rickettsia of unknown pathogenicity. Two deer-collected ticks tested positive for Ehrlichia ewingii. No ticks were positive for Anaplasma or Borrelia species. None of the ecological factors tested (collection month, collection source, sex, and habitat type) were associated with R. parkeri infection. This project developed baseline prevalence and incidence data for monitoring pathogen prevalence in A. maculatum populations, and identified an inexpensive method for distinguishing R. parkeri from Ca. R. andeanae.
Ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis are two common bacterial tick-borne diseases in the southeastern United States. Ehrlichiosis is caused by ehrlichiae transmitted by Amblyomma americanum and rickettsiosis is caused by rickettsiae transmitted by Amblyomma maculatum and Dermacentor variabilis. These ticks are common and have overlapping distributions in the region. The objective of this study was to identify Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia species associated with questing ticks in a Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) hotspot, and identify habitats, time periods, and collection methods for collecting questing-infected ticks. Using vegetation drags and CO-baited traps, ticks were collected six times (May-September 2012) from 100 sites (upland deciduous, bottomland deciduous, grassland, and coniferous habitats) in western Tennessee. Adult collections were screened for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia (simultaneous polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) and Rickettsia using genus-specific PCRs, and resulting positive amplicons were sequenced. Anaplasma and Ehrlichia were only identified within A. americanum (Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Panola Mountain Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma odocoilei sp. nov.); more Ehrlichia-infected A. americanum were collected at the end of June regardless of habitat and collection method. Rickettsia was identified in three tick species; "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii" from A. americanum, R. parkeri and R. andeanae from A. maculatum, and R. montanensis ( = montana) from D. variabilis. Overall, significantly more Rickettsia-infected ticks were identified as A. americanum and A. maculatum compared to D. variabilis; more infected-ticks were collected from sites May-July and with dragging. In this study, we report in the Tennessee RMSF hotspot the following: (1) Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are only found in A. americanum, (2) each tick species has its own Rickettsia species, (3) a majority of questing-infected ticks are collected May-July, (4) A. americanum and A. maculatum harbor pathogenic bacteria in western Tennessee, and (5) R. rickettsii remains unidentified.
BackgroundIn the northeastern and midwestern regions of the United States Ixodes scapularis Say transmits the causal agents of anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), babesiosis (Babesia microti), and borreliosis (Borrelia burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi). In the southeastern United States, none of those pathogens are considered endemic and two other tick-borne diseases (TBDs) (ehrlicihosis and rickettiosis) are more common. Our objective was to determine baseline presence and absence data for three non-endemic bacterial agents (Anaplasma, Borrelia and Babesia) and two commonly reported bacterial agents (Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia) in southern I. scapularis (n = 47) collected from 15 hunter-harvested white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in western Tennessee.FindingsOf the 47 ticks, 27 tested PCR positive for non-pathogenic Rickettsia species, two for Ehrlichia ewingii, one for Ehrlichia sp. “Panola Mountain”, and one for Anaplasma phagocytophilum variant 1 strain. None of these ticks were positive for Babesia or Borrelia (including B. burgdorferi).ConclusionsFinding human pathogens in host-fed I. scapularis merits additional studies surveying pathogen prevalence in questing ticks. Collection of questing I. scapularis in their peak activity months should be undertaken to determine the overall encounter rates and relative risk of pathogenic Ehrlichia in southern I. scapularis. Ehrlichia sequences were homologous to previous human isolates, but neither Babesia nor B. burgdorferi were identified in these ticks. With the identification of pathogenic bacteria in this relatively small collection of I. scapularis from western Tennessee, the study of the absence of Lyme disease in the south should be refocused to evaluate the role of pathogenic Ehrlichia in southern I. scapularis.
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