Acquisition of Rickettsia rickettsii (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) by Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) through co-feeding with infected Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the laboratory

Abstract

Haemaphysalis longicornis (Neumann) is an invasive ixodid tick originating from eastern Asia which recently has become established in the United States. In its native range, this tick can transmit several pathogens to animals and humans, but little is known about its ability to acquire and transmit pathogens native to the United States. Geographic overlap with ticks such as Dermacentor variabilis (Say), a known vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, makes investigation into the interactions between H. longicornis and D. variabilis of interest to the public health community. Previous studies have shown that H. longicornis can serve as a competent vector of R. rickettsii under laboratory settings, but there is little information on its ability to acquire this pathogen via other biologically relevant routes, such as co-feeding. Here, we assess the ability of H. longicornis nymphs to acquire R. rickettsii through co-feeding with infected D. variabilis adults on a vertebrate animal model under laboratory conditions. The median infection prevalence in engorged H. longicornis nymphs across 8 cohorts was 0% with an interquartile range (IQR) of 4.13%. Following transstadial transmission, the median infection prevalence in flat females was 0.7% (IQR = 2.4%). Our results show that co-feeding transmission occurs at low levels in the laboratory between these 2 species. However, based on the relatively low transmission rates, this may not be a likely mechanism of R. rickettsii introduction to H. longicornis.