Ixodid ticks feeding on humans in South Africa: with notes on preferred hosts,geographic distribution,seasonal occurrence and transmission of pathogens |
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Authors: | Horak I G Fourie L J Heyne Heloise Walker Jane B Needham G R |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, 9300 Bloemfontein, South Africa;(2) Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa;(3) Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa;(4) Department of Parasitology, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, 0110 Onderstepoort, South Africa;(5) Acarology Laboratory, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, 484 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA |
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Abstract: | This paper records the identities of 558 ixodid ticks feeding on 194 humans in South Africa. These ticks belonged to 20 species
in six genera and those most frequently encountered were Amblyomma hebraeum, Haemaphysalis leachi, Hyalomma
marginatum rufipes, Hyalomma truncatum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus gertrudae and Rhipicephalus simus. With the exception of the larvae of R. appendiculatus, the incidents of these ticks feeding on humans correlated well with their seasonal occurrences on preferred hosts. Ticks
were also collected at monthly intervals, for 14 consecutive months, from the clothing of a game-guard providing protection
for field-workers engaged in the collection, by means of flannel strips, of free-living ticks from the vegetation of four
localities in the southern region of the Kruger National Park. In addition, with the exception of 3 months when the particular
worker was absent, ticks that fed on one of the field-workers were collected over the same 14-month period. A total of 54,429
free-living ticks belonging to 14 species and six genera were collected from the vegetation at the four localities during
this time and 3751 ticks belonging to 11 species and six genera from the clothing of the game-guard. The larvae of A. hebraeum and Boophilus decoloratus were the most numerous of the immature ticks, and H. leachi and R. simus of the adults on both the vegetation and the guard’s clothing. Ticks fed on the field-worker on six occasions and 14 were
collected, all of which were A. hebraeum larvae.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | ticks Ixodidae humans preferred hosts geographic distribution seasonal occurrence |
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