Human tick bite records in a United States Air Force population, 1989–1992: implications for tick-borne disease risk

Abstract

Reports of tick parasitism were recorded for US Air Force personnel ( n = 410) from 30 states and the District of Columbia. Of 462 ticks involved in attacks on people, the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, and the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, were the most common species represented (34.2% and 34.0%, respectively). Two vectors of Lyme disease, Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (including the former Ixodes dammini) also parasitized people but were less common (1.7% and 9.1%, respectively). In addition, 34 (7.3%) brown dog ticks, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, were identified from human hosts. Most ticks submitted for identification were adults (66.5%) and nymphs (29.1%). Larvae were submitted infrequently (<5%). Of those specimens examined for feeding status, 50.0% had blood-fed to some degree. Patients from which ticks were removed were predominantly male (56.8%) and ranged in age from 1 to 76 years with 55.3% (n = 152) being under 20 years. The head and neck area and the lower extremities were the most common sites of attachment by ticks (37.7% and 24.3%, respectively), but ticks were found attached on other areas of the body also, including the trunk, upper extremities, buttocks, and groin. Most ticks (65.5%) bit their victims during May, June, or July, but parasitism occurred during all months of the year. Our data suggest that people from all age groups and from across the United States are vulnerable to parasitism by ticks and, potentially, tick-borne diseases.

Spatial disaggregation of tick occurrence and ecology at a local scale as a preliminary step for spatial surveillance of tick-borne diseases: general framework and health implications in Belgium

“…Mean temperature probably limits its northward distribution [91]. This species is rarely found on humans [27], but seems to more willingly bite humans occasionally, representing at times up to 7% of ticks biting men [92]. Up to 22 ticks on one man were reported in France [93].…”

Tick infestation in human beings in the Nilgiris and Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India

“…Literature survey revealed that the human beings are mostly infested with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Guglielmone et al 1991;Campbell and Bowles 1994;Dantas-Torres et al 2006;Okoli et al 2006;Uspensky 2009;Mentz et al 2016), Haemaphysalis longicornis (Maeoka et al 1990), H. megaspinosa (Seishima et al (Miller 2002), I. sinensis (Zheng et al 2011), Amblyomma americanum (Campbell and Bowles 1994;Childs and Paddock 2003) and rarely infested with Amblyomma and Ixodes sp ticks. In India, only 3 ticks namely, A. integrum (Yesudian and Thambiah 1973), Haemaphysalis spinigera (Banerjee 1988) and Dermacentor auratus (Ajithkumar et al 2012) were reported on human beings.…”

Human otoacariasis

“…A newly emerged larva in such habitats will attach to a host after dropping onto it from overhanging leaves, after clinging to it as it passes by, or after climbing on it as it is resting. During interviews, the local people reported that, in human infestations in Kelantan as elsewhere (Campbell and Bowles, 1994;Miyamoto and Nakao, 1994), most ticks attach to the headÐ often to the ear drum, ear lobe or eyelid. Otoacariasis in animals other than man is a well recognized problem (Weisbroth et al , 1974;Bates, 1996).…”