Mays Maestas Sarah E, Maestas Lauren P, Kaufman Phillip E
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas, USA.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2025 Jan;25(1):34-42. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2023.0135. Epub 2024 Aug 12.
Soft ticks (Family: Argasidae) are vectors of relapsing fever in the United States and are potential vectors of African swine fever virus, a pathogen that could have a devastating effect on the U.S. swine industry if introduced to the U.S. mainland. Much of the tick-borne disease research in the U.S. focuses on hard ticks, and less is known about the ecology of soft ticks. Some soft tick species found in the southern U.S. have a wide host range and may feed on cattle, swine, native and exotic ungulates, small mammals, reptiles, and humans. Because the feeding habit of most soft tick species involves taking short, repeated blood meals that may include multiple host species, pathogen transmission among hosts is a concern both for human and animal health. Sampling was carried out at four locations in south Texas using dry ice traps placed in or near animal burrows and other sheltering cracks and crevasses that may provide refuge for soft ticks. Collected ticks were identified and subsequently screened for and species and for host bloodmeal detection using conventional polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing for pathogen and host species identification. In total, 256 ticks of two Ornithodorinae species were screened. species were identified in three samples. Bloodmeal detections were made in 22 tick specimens, representing eight vertebrate host species. Results demonstrate that the soft tick species detected herein feed on a range of wildlife hosts in south Texas and are associated with agents of human disease.
软蜱（软蜱科）是美国回归热的传播媒介，也是非洲猪瘟病毒的潜在传播媒介。如果非洲猪瘟病毒传入美国大陆，该病原体可能会对美国养猪业造成毁灭性影响。美国大部分蜱传疾病研究都集中在硬蜱上，而对软蜱生态学的了解较少。在美国南部发现的一些软蜱种类宿主范围广泛，可能会吸食牛、猪、本地和外来有蹄类动物、小型哺乳动物、爬行动物以及人类的血液。由于大多数软蜱种类的取食习性是短时间内反复吸食血液，可能涉及多个宿主物种，因此病原体在宿主之间的传播对人类和动物健康都是一个问题。在得克萨斯州南部的四个地点进行了采样，使用干冰诱捕器放置在动物洞穴内或附近以及其他可能为软蜱提供庇护的裂缝和缝隙处。对采集到的蜱进行鉴定，随后使用常规聚合酶链反应和桑格测序对病原体和宿主物种进行鉴定，以筛查病原体种类和宿主血餐检测情况。总共筛查了256只两种钝缘蜱属的蜱。在三个样本中鉴定出了该病原体。在22个蜱标本中检测到血餐，代表了8种脊椎动物宿主。结果表明，本文检测到的软蜱种类以得克萨斯州南部的一系列野生动物宿主为食，并与人类疾病病原体有关。
