National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ministry of Health, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.
Battelle Memorial Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2023 May;23(5):284-290. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2022.0082. Epub 2023 Mar 22.
The natural environment of southeastern Armenia, which includes the Syunik and Vayots Dzor regions, provides a high biodiversity of flora and fauna, including ectoparasites. Currently, the fauna and ecology of gamasid ticks and their role in the circulation of tularemia in this area are unclear and incomplete. To better understand the persistence of tularemia in Armenia, an assessment of specific hosts and their vectors is needed to evaluate their role in perpetuating tularemia. Utilizing data and samples collected from 1970 to 2020, we have evaluated the species composition of gamasid ticks found on the common vole and in their nests and burrows, and identified the presence of tularemia over time. We evaluated five different geographical landscapes: semidesert, dry mountain steppe, mountain steppe, mountain forest, and high mountain in the communities and open areas of Kapan, Goris, Sisian, Meghri, and Jermuk. We determined the density of gamasid ticks in southeastern Armenia over the 50-year period and isolated 20 cultures of tularemia in 12 separate years. It is important to regularly monitor gamasid ticks in southeastern Armenia to clarify the risk factors for the occurrence of tularemia epizootics, among both carriers and vectors, to better understand the full epidemiological picture.
亚美尼亚东南部的自然环境，包括舒尼克和瓦约茨佐尔地区，拥有丰富的动植物多样性，包括外寄生虫。目前，关于gamasid 蜱虫的动物群和生态学及其在该地区土拉菌病传播中的作用还不清楚且不完整。为了更好地了解土拉菌病在亚美尼亚的持续存在，需要评估特定的宿主及其传播媒介，以评估它们在土拉菌病持续存在中的作用。我们利用 1970 年至 2020 年收集的数据和样本，评估了在常见田鼠及其巢穴和洞穴中发现的 gamasid 蜱虫的物种组成，并确定了土拉菌病随时间的存在情况。我们评估了卡潘、戈尔尼、锡西安、梅格里和久姆里社区和开阔地区的五个不同地理景观：半沙漠、干旱山地草原、山地草原、山地森林和高山。我们确定了亚美尼亚东南部在 50 年期间 gamasid 蜱虫的密度，并在 12 个不同年份中分离出 20 株土拉菌。定期监测亚美尼亚东南部的 gamasid 蜱虫对于阐明土拉菌病爆发的风险因素，包括携带宿主和传播媒介，从而更好地了解全面的流行病学情况非常重要。
