Ticks Collected from Wild and Domestic Animals and Natural Habitats in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Ticks were collected from 35 animals from 5 provinces and 3 metropolitan cities during 2012. Ticks also were collected by tick drag from 4 sites in Gyeonggi-do (2) and Jeollabuk-do (2) Provinces. A total of 612 ticks belonging to 6 species and 3 genera were collected from mammals and a bird (n=573) and by tick drag (n=39). Haemaphyalis longicornis (n=434) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by H. flava (158), Ixodes nipponensis (11), Amblyomma testudinarium (7), H. japonica (1), and H. formosensis (1). H. longicornis and H. flava were collected from all animal hosts examined. For animal hosts (n>1), the highest Tick Index (TI) was observed for domestic dogs (29.6), followed by Siberian roe deer (17.4), water deer (14.4), and raccoon dogs (1.3). A total of 402 H. longicornis (adults 86, 21.4%; nymphs 160, 39.8%; larvae 156, 38.9%) were collected from wild and domestic animals. A total of 158 H. flava (n=158) were collected from wild and domestic animals and 1 ring-necked pheasant, with a higher proportion of adults (103, 65.2%), while nymphs and larvae only accounted for 12.7% (20) and 22.2% (35), respectively. Only 7 A. testudinarium were collected from the wild boar (6 adults) and Eurasian badger (1 nymph), while only 5 I. nipponensis were collected from the water deer (4 adults) and a raccoon dog (1 adult). One adult female H. formosensis was first collected from vegetation by tick drag from Mara Island, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do Province.

Mapping the global potential transmission hotspots for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome by machine learning methods

“…When two models were considered together, eight significant variables overlapped for predicting both the distribution of the H. longicornis and SFTS cases, including elevation, precipitation of warmest quarter, annual mean temperature, mean diurnal range of temperature, livestock density, mammalian richness, population density and rainfed croplands, although different relative contributions of them were found in restraining their distributions. These factors are generally reflective of the environments where wild and/or domestic animal hosts exist and enable tick survival, virus circulation and adequate exposure of human hosts to the virus [46,47].…”

Dog survey in Russian veterinary hospitals: tick identification and molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens

“…Overall, these results reflect the complicated tick-borne pathogen epizootology reported throughout the wide geographical range of I . persulcatus [ 22 , 47 , 48 ]. These ticks therefore represent a pathogen transmission risk for both dogs and humans [ 49 ] and results of this study confirm the risk of tick-borne disease transmission from I .…”

Molecular Detection and Characterization of Borrelia garinii (Spirochaetales: Borreliaceae) in Ixodes nipponensis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Parasitizing a Dog in Korea

“…In Korea, some studies have serologically identified Borrelia in dogs, and the seroprevalence ranges between 1.1% and 2.2% [12,35,36]; however, Borrelia infection in dogs has not been molecularly proven. Haemaphysalis longicornis is known as a dominant tick species in Korea, and other tick species, including Ixodes, Amblyomma, and Rhipicephalus, have been identified in different environments [37,38]. The fact that I. nipponensis is not a dominant tick species in dogs and in environments in Korea [38] might be the reason for the low seroprevalence of Lyme borreliosis in dogs in this country.…”