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Frank Sullivan C, Parker BL, Skinner M. Survival of off-host Dermacentor albipictus (Acari: Ixodidae) adult females and larvae underwater. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2022-0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Dermacentor albipictus (Packard, 1869) [Acari: Ixodidae], the winter tick, significantly affects the health and productivity of North American moose (Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) [Artiodactyla: Cervidae]). Survival of off-host stages of Ixodid ticks depends on microclimate driven in part by extrinsic factors resulting from weather, such as temperature, humidity, drought, and floods. The impact of some of these abiotic factors is unclear for D. albipictus. The effect of water submergence on biological parameters of engorged, adult, females and unfed larvae was assessed in the laboratory. Survival of adult females after submergence for three days was 88% with significant effects on their ability to oviposit. After five weeks, 63% of larvae (one-month-old) survived submergence in water whereas survival of larvae (three-months-old) was reduced to 23% after seven days. The off-host stages of D. albipictus have variable tolerance to periods of submergence that may influence the number of larvae available on the landscape for recruitment to moose in autumn.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bruce L. Parker
- University of Vermont, 2092, Burlington, United States, 05405-0160
| | - Margaret Skinner
- University of Vermont, 2092, Burlington, United States, 05405-0160
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Geotropic, hydrokinetic and random walking differ between sympatric tick species: the deer tick Ixodes scapularis and the lone star tick Ambylomma americanum. J ETHOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-021-00741-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Schimpf DJ, Ewert MM, Lai VK, Clarke BL. Responses of ticks to immersion in hot bathing water: Effect of surface type, water temperature, and soap on tick motor control. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261592. [PMID: 34919573 PMCID: PMC8682875 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Preventing bites from undetected ticks through bathing practices would benefit public health, but the effects of these practices have been researched minimally. We immersed nymphal and adult hard ticks of species common in the eastern United States in tap water, using temperatures and durations that are realistic for human hot bathing. The effect of (a) different skin-equivalent surfaces (silicone and pig skin), and (b) water temperature was tested on Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis and Ixodes scapularis nymphs. Overall, the type of surface had a much larger effect on the nymphs’ tendency to stay in contact with the surface than water temperature did. Most nymphs that separated from the surface did so within the first 10 s of immersion, with the majority losing contact due to the formation of an air bubble between their ventral side and the test surface. In addition, adult Ixodes scapularis were tested for the effect of immersion time, temperature, and soap on tick responsiveness. Some individual adults moved abnormally or stopped moving as a result of longer or hotter immersion, but soap had little effect on responsiveness. Taken together, our results suggest that the surface plays a role in ticks’ tendency to stay in contact; the use of different bath additives warrants further research. While water temperature did not have a significant short-term effect on tick separation, ticks that have not attached by their mouth parts may be rendered unresponsive and eventually lose contact with a person’s skin in a hot bath. It should be noted that our research did not consider potential temperature effects on the pathogens themselves, as previous research suggests that some tickborne pathogens may become less hazardous even if the tick harboring them survives hot-water exposures and later bites the bather after remaining undetected.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J. Schimpf
- Department of Biology, University of Minnesota – Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Matthew M. Ewert
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Victor K. Lai
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota – Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Benjamin L. Clarke
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota – Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America
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Mendoza-Roldan JA, Mendoza-Roldan MA, Otranto D. Reptile vector-borne diseases of zoonotic concern. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2021; 15:132-142. [PMID: 34026483 PMCID: PMC8121771 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Reptile vector-borne diseases (RVBDs) of zoonotic concern are caused by bacteria, protozoa and viruses transmitted by arthropod vectors, which belong to the subclass Acarina (mites and ticks) and the order Diptera (mosquitoes, sand flies and tsetse flies). The phyletic age of reptiles since their origin in the late Carboniferous, has favored vectors and pathogens to co-evolve through millions of years, bridging to the present host-vector-pathogen interactions. The origin of vector-borne diseases is dated to the early cretaceous with Trypanosomatidae species in extinct sand flies, ancestral of modern protozoan hemoparasites of zoonotic concern (e.g., Leishmania and Trypanosoma) associated to reptiles. Bacterial RVBDs are represented by microorganisms also affecting mammals of the genera Aeromonas, Anaplasma, Borrelia, Coxiella, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia, most of them having reptilian clades. Finally, reptiles may play an important role as reservoirs of arborivuses, given the low host specificity of anthropophilic mosquitoes and sand flies. In this review, vector-borne pathogens of zoonotic concern from reptiles are discussed, as well as the interactions between reptiles, arthropod vectors and the zoonotic pathogens they may transmit.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Domenico Otranto
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
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Ogden NH, Beard CB, Ginsberg HS, Tsao JI. Possible Effects of Climate Change on Ixodid Ticks and the Pathogens They Transmit: Predictions and Observations. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:1536-1545. [PMID: 33112403 PMCID: PMC9620468 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The global climate has been changing over the last century due to greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to change over this century, accelerating without effective global efforts to reduce emissions. Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) are inherently climate-sensitive due to the sensitivity of tick lifecycles to climate. Key direct climate and weather sensitivities include survival of individual ticks, and the duration of development and host-seeking activity of ticks. These sensitivities mean that in some regions a warming climate may increase tick survival, shorten life-cycles and lengthen the duration of tick activity seasons. Indirect effects of climate change on host communities may, with changes in tick abundance, facilitate enhanced transmission of tick-borne pathogens. High temperatures, and extreme weather events (heat, cold, and flooding) are anticipated with climate change, and these may reduce tick survival and pathogen transmission in some locations. Studies of the possible effects of climate change on TTBDs to date generally project poleward range expansion of geographical ranges (with possible contraction of ranges away from the increasingly hot tropics), upslope elevational range spread in mountainous regions, and increased abundance of ticks in many current endemic regions. However, relatively few studies, using long-term (multi-decade) observations, provide evidence of recent range changes of tick populations that could be attributed to recent climate change. Further integrated 'One Health' observational and modeling studies are needed to detect changes in TTBD occurrence, attribute them to climate change, and to develop predictive models of public- and animal-health needs to plan for TTBD emergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas H. Ogden
- Public Health Risk Sciences Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada J2S 2M2
- Groupe de recherche en épidémiologie des zoonoses et santé publique (GREZOSP), Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada J2S 2M2
- Corresponding author,
| | - C. Ben Beard
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 80521
| | - Howard S. Ginsberg
- U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Rhode Island Field Station, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881
| | - Jean I. Tsao
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
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Kwak ML, Foo M, Pocklington K, Hsu CD, Cheong W, How CB, Shunari M, Tahir MG. Tick-crocodilian interactions: a review, with the first record of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestation in the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and a concise host-parasite index. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2019; 78:127-132. [PMID: 31093858 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-019-00378-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between ticks and crocodilians (crocodiles, alligators, caiman, and gharials) are poorly studied but may have significant bearing on the ecology and health of these reptiles. The first record of tick infestation of the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is reported along with the first case of infestation by Amblyomma cordiferum on Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus). A review is also provided of tick-crocodilian interactions with a concise host-parasite index.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mackenzie L Kwak
- Evolutionary Biology Laboratory, Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore.
| | - Maosheng Foo
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Dr, Singapore, 117377, Republic of Singapore
| | - Kate Pocklington
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Dr, Singapore, 117377, Republic of Singapore
| | - Chia-Da Hsu
- Department of Conservation, Research and Veterinary Services, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore, 729826, Republic of Singapore
| | - Webster Cheong
- Department of Conservation, Research and Veterinary Services, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore, 729826, Republic of Singapore
| | - Choon Beng How
- National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore, 259569, Republic of Singapore
| | - Mishak Shunari
- National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore, 259569, Republic of Singapore
| | - Muhammad Ghufran Tahir
- National Parks Board (NParks), Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore, 259569, Republic of Singapore
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