Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA.
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2021 Sep;12(5):101773. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101773. Epub 2021 Jun 17.
Understanding the abiotic and biotic variables affecting tick populations is essential for studying the biology and health risks associated with vector species. We conducted a study on the phenology of exotic Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick) at a site in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. We also assessed the importance of wildlife hosts, habitats, and microclimate variables such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed on this exotic tick's presence and abundance. In addition, we determined the prevalence of infection with selected tick-borne pathogens in host-seeking H. longicornis. We determined that the seasonal activity of H. longicornis in Virginia was slightly different from previous studies in the northeastern United States. We observed nymphal ticks persist year-round but were most active in the spring, followed by a peak in adult activity in the summer and larval activity in the fall. We also observed a lower probability of collecting host-seeking H. longicornis in field habitats and the summer months. In addition, we detected H. longicornis on several wildlife hosts, including coyote (Canis latrans), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), woodchuck (Marmota monax), and a Peromyscus sp. mouse. This latter record is the first detection of a larval H. longicornis on a North American rodent host important to the enzootic maintenance of tick-borne pathogens of humans and animals. Finally, we continued to detect the exotic piroplasm parasite, Theileria orientalis Ikeda, in H. longicornis as well as other pathogens, including Rickettsia felis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (AP-1), and a Hepatozoon sp. previously characterized in Amblyomma americanum. These represent some of the first detections of arthropod-borne pathogens native to the United States in host-seeking H. longicornis. These data increase our understanding of H. longicornis biology in the United States and provide valuable information into the future health risks associated with this tick and pathogens.
了解影响蜱种群的非生物和生物变量对于研究与媒介物种相关的生物学和健康风险至关重要。我们在美国弗吉尼亚州阿尔伯马尔县的一个地点进行了一项关于外来物种长角血蜱（亚洲长角血蜱）的物候学研究。我们还评估了野生动物宿主、栖息地以及温度、相对湿度和风速等微气候变量对这种外来蜱的存在和丰度的重要性。此外，我们还确定了在寻找宿主的长角血蜱中感染选定蜱传病原体的流行情况。我们发现，弗吉尼亚州长角血蜱的季节性活动与美国东北部之前的研究略有不同。我们观察到若虫全年都在持续存在，但在春季最为活跃，随后在夏季成虫活动达到高峰，秋季幼虫活动达到高峰。我们还观察到在野外栖息地和夏季月份收集到寻找宿主的长角血蜱的可能性较低。此外，我们在几种野生动物宿主上检测到了长角血蜱，包括郊狼（Canis latrans）、东部棉尾兔（Sylvilagus floridanus）、浣熊（Procyon lotor）、弗吉尼亚负鼠（Didelphis virginiana）、白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）、土拨鼠（Marmota monax）和一种 Peromyscus sp. 鼠。这是首次在北美啮齿动物宿主上检测到与人类和动物的蜱传病原体的地方性维持有关的幼虫长角血蜱。最后，我们继续在长角血蜱以及其他病原体中检测到外来的梨形虫寄生虫东方泰勒虫（Theileria orientalis Ikeda），包括猫抓病病原体费氏柠檬酸杆菌（Rickettsia felis）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体（Anaplasma phagocytophilum，AP-1）和一种以前在美洲钝缘蜱（Amblyomma americanum）中描述过的肝孢子虫。这些是在寻找宿主的长角血蜱中首次检测到的一些原产于美国的节肢动物传播病原体。这些数据增加了我们对美国长角血蜱生物学的理解，并为未来与这种蜱虫和病原体相关的健康风险提供了有价值的信息。
