Fleas (95 Pulex irritans, 50 Ctenocephalides felis, 45 Ctenocephalides canis) and ixodid ticks (223 ixodes ricinus, 231 Dermacentor reticulatus, 204 Haemaphysalis concinna) were collected in Hungary and tested, in assays based on PCR, for Bartonella infection. Low percentages of P. irritans (4.2%) and C. felis (4.0%) were found to be infected. The groEL sequences of the four isolates from P. ir...

A cDNA expression library from the salivary glands of hard tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, was constructed. Immunoscreening was performed using sera of the rabbit repeatedly infested with ticks and seventeen positive clones were obtained. A BLASTP search suggested that 8 sequences matched with that of hypothetical H. longicornis sequence and one clone encoded HL35 antigen U from the same tick ...

Tick vaccine development plays an important role in current tick control strategies. Previously, we have produced three different isotypes of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) which recognized a midgut protein of adult Haemaphysalis longicornis. These mAbs, typed as IgG1, 2a, and 2b, reacted with a 76 kDa surface protein of midgut cells. We speculated that the 76 kDa protein may be an unknown antige...

Ticks transmit viruses responsible for severe emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, some of which have a significant impact on public health. In Japan, little is known about the distribution of tick-borne viruses. In this study, we collected and tested ticks to investigate the distribution of tick-borne arboviruses in Kyoto, Japan, and isolated the first Thogoto virus (THOV) to our know...

A total of 100 ground squirrels, Citellus (C.) citellus were trapped in rural regions of Konya in order to determine the presence of ectoparasites. Of these C. citellus examined, 16% (16/100) were infected with at least one ectoparasite species. Two types of ectoparasites were found including 10% fleas and 7% ticks. Only two flea species were found on C. citellus including Nosopsyllus fasciatus...

During November 2006, two live and one dead mouflon (Ovis ammon musimon) were presented with a history of weakness, tremors, and paralysis. After a detailed gross and histologic examination and a bacteriologic, parasitologic, and rabies evaluation, a preliminary diagnosis of tick paralysis was established. A thorough field search revealed 13 affected mouflons found in the open hunting ground "S...

A total of 87 Thoroughbred horses and 10 ixodid ticks from a ranch in Hidaka district, Hokkaido were tested for tick-borne diseases. Using the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) method, 3.4, 92.0 and 97.7% of the horses showed antibody titers of ≥ 80 against Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia helvetica, and Borrelia garinii, respectively. This is the first report of infection with the 3 pat...

Five strains of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae previously isolated from human clinical cases and from the tick Haemaphysalis leporispalustris were used for molecular characterization in this study to establish their genetic relationship compared with the prototype Rickettsia rickettsii strain Sheila Smith. Samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the rickettsial g...

We conducted serological surveys for Coxiella burnetii in archived sera from patients that visited a rural clinic in western Kenya from 2007 to 2008 and in cattle, sheep, and goats from the same area in 2009. We also conducted serological and polymerase chain reaction-based surveillance for the pathogen in 2009-2010, in human patients with acute lower respiratory illness, in ruminants following...

Three serologically distinct groups of spiroplasmas have been recovered from ticks. Spiroplasma mirum strains (from rabbit ticks, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris) and Y32 group (VI) spiroplasmas (from Ixodes pacificus) are the only spiroplasmas to have a clear association with these arthropods. Group (VI) spiroplasmas are distinguished by an unusual nonhelical morphology and their capacity to he...