Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Humanities, Shaqra University, Ad-Dawadimi, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.
J Med Entomol. 2019 Jun 27;56(4):1027-1032. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjz036.
Hard ticks are among the most important blood sucking arthropods that transmit pathogens to humans and animals. This study was designed to determine prevalence, mapping, geographical distribution, and seasonal activity of hard tick species infesting the most common domestic and wild mammals in various districts of Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, during the period January to December 2017. In total, 10,832 adult hard ticks were collected from the bodies of 8,435 animals belonging to 18 different mammalian species. The ticks were preserved in 70% alcohol and microscopy was used to identify species. Two genera, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus, were identified, comprising 10 species of hard ticks, with Hyalomma comprising 68.3% and Rhipicephalus comprising 31.7% of species. The most common species on domestic mammalian hosts was Hyalomma dromedarii (Koch 1844) (39.9%) followed by Rhipicephalus turanicus (Pomerantsev, Matikashvili & Lotosky 1936) (34.9%), whereas on wild mammalian hosts Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille 1806) was by far the most prevalent species (83.0%). However, ticks were most abundant during May through July (36.0%) in the studied areas, and tick intensity and abundance differed among seasons. Our results provide information for human and animal health service managers, as well as governmental authorities, to gain a better understanding of hard ticks infesting mammalian hosts in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia, which can help improve prevention and control of tick-borne diseases, especially during outbreaks.
硬蜱是最重要的吸血节肢动物之一，可将病原体传播给人类和动物。本研究旨在确定沙特阿拉伯利雅得省不同地区 2017 年 1 月至 12 月期间，寄生在最常见的家养和野生动物身上的硬蜱种类的流行率、绘图、地理分布和季节性活动。总共从属于 18 种不同哺乳动物物种的 8435 只动物身上采集到 10832 只成年硬蜱。将蜱保存在 70%的酒精中，并使用显微镜鉴定物种。鉴定出两个属，即 Hylomma 和 Rhipicephalus，包含 10 种硬蜱，其中 Hylomma 占 68.3%，Rhipicephalus 占 31.7%。在家养哺乳动物宿主上最常见的物种是 Hylomma dromedarii（Koch 1844）（39.9%），其次是 Rhipicephalus turanicus（Pomerantsev、Matikashvili 和 Lotosky 1936）（34.9%），而在野生哺乳动物宿主上，Rhipicephalus sanguineus（Latreille 1806）是迄今为止最普遍的物种（83.0%）。然而，在研究区域内，蜱虫最丰富的时间是 5 月至 7 月（36.0%），并且蜱虫的密度和丰度在不同季节有所不同。我们的研究结果为人类和动物健康服务管理人员以及政府当局提供了信息，使他们更好地了解沙特阿拉伯利雅得省寄生在哺乳动物宿主上的硬蜱，这有助于改善对蜱传疾病的预防和控制，特别是在爆发期间。
