Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) is the principal vector of Borrelia burgdorferi (the etiologic agent of Lyme disease) in the eastern and midwestern United States. Recent efforts have documented the first established population of I. scapularis in South Dakota, representing a western expansion of the known species distribution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEhrlichiosis and rickettsiosis are two common bacterial tick-borne diseases in the southeastern United States. Ehrlichiosis is caused by ehrlichiae transmitted by Amblyomma americanum and rickettsiosis is caused by rickettsiae transmitted by Amblyomma maculatum and Dermacentor variabilis. These ticks are common and have overlapping distributions in the region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the northeastern and midwestern regions of the United States Ixodes scapularis Say transmits the causal agents of anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), babesiosis (Babesia microti), and borreliosis (Borrelia burgdorferi and B. miyamotoi). In the southeastern United States, none of those pathogens are considered endemic and two other tick-borne diseases (TBDs) (ehrlicihosis and rickettiosis) are more common.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOtobius megnini (Dugès), often referred to as the ear tick or spinose ear tick, is a one-host tick native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Infestations of this species can cause severe irritation and may affect breeding behavior in the host. Although chemical repellents are commonly used as an alternative approach to conventional arthropod vector control, information on repellency against O.
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