Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA.
Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21010, USA.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Nov;11(6):101550. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101550. Epub 2020 Sep 2.
Small mammals are often parasitized by the immature stages of hard-bodied ticks (family Ixodidae) and may serve as reservoir hosts of tick-borne pathogens. Amblyomma maculatum, the Gulf Coast tick, is the primary vector of Rickettsia parkeri, the causative agent of R. parkeri rickettsiosis. This hard-bodied tick species is expanding its historical range from the Gulf Coast of the U.S. up the Mid-Atlantic coast. In Mid-Atlantic states, such as Virginia, R. parkeri prevalence is higher in these ticks than those found in its historical range. This high prevalence may be explained in part by small mammal populations. In this study, small mammals were trapped and checked for the presence of immature A. maculatum. The ticks as well as tissue samples from these mammals were tested for the presence of R. parkeri. This study found six rodent species acting as hosts to immature A. maculatum and three species that may play a role in the enzootic cycle of R. parkeri in Virginia.
小型哺乳动物常被硬壳蜱（Ixodidae 科）的未成熟阶段寄生，可能是蜱传病原体的储存宿主。海湾角蜱（Amblyomma maculatum）是帕克氏立克次体（Rickettsia parkeri）的主要传播媒介，帕克氏立克次体病就是由其引起的。这种硬壳蜱的历史分布范围正在从美国墨西哥湾沿岸向北美大西洋中部海岸扩展。在弗吉尼亚等大西洋中部各州，这些蜱类中的帕克氏立克次体的流行率高于其历史分布范围内的蜱类。这种高流行率部分可以用小型哺乳动物种群来解释。在这项研究中，捕获了小型哺乳动物并检查了未成熟的海湾角蜱的存在情况。对这些蜱以及来自这些哺乳动物的组织样本进行了帕克氏立克次体检测。本研究发现了六种作为未成熟海湾角蜱宿主的啮齿动物物种，以及三种可能在弗吉尼亚州帕克氏立克次体的地方性循环中发挥作用的物种。
