An exotic souvenir on a German traveler returning from South Africa

The study reports the finding of a nymph attached to a German tourist during a holiday in South Africa. The nymph specimen was morphologically identified and confirmed by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA genes. The nymph was identified as Rhipicephalus maculatus, a rare tick reported in humans. Screening using the pan-Rickettsia-PCR for infection gave a negative result.https://link.springer.com/journal/436hj2023Veterinary Tropical Disease

Detection of Amblyomma mixtum (Acari: Ixodidae) in Germany on a Human Traveler Returning from Cuba

The importation of exotic ticks to Germany on infested humans is rarely reported. Here we describe the detection of an Amblyomma mixtum nymph harboring Rickettsia amblyommatis by a tourist returning from a holiday trip to Cuba. Tick infestation may be neglected by tourists. Therefore, careful anamnesis and diagnosis should be carried out when tourists return from tropical and subtropical countries suffering from nonspecific symptoms, such as fever and malaise.Fil: Chitimia Dobler, Lidia. Bundeswehr Institute Of Microbiology; Alemania. Universidad de Hohenheim; AlemaniaFil: Schaper, Sabine. Bundeswehr Institute Of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Mansfeld, Peter. Museum of Natural History, Kassel; AlemaniaFil: Gonschorrek, Joachim. No especifíca;Fil: Bröker, Michael. No especifíca;Fil: Nava, Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentin

A remarkable assemblage of ticks from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

DATA: The data reported in this paper are detailed in the main text.Four fossil ticks (Arachnida: Parasitiformes: Ixodida) are described from mid-Cretaceous (ca. 100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar. Ixodes antiquorum sp. nov. (Ixodidae) is the first Mesozoic record of Ixodes and the oldest representative of the most species-rich extant tick genus. Its affinities appear to lie with modern Australian forms, consistent with the hypothesis that Burmese amber hosted Gondwanan faunal elements. Even more remarkable is Khimaira fossus gen. et sp. nov. which combines a body resembling that of a soft tick (Argasidae) with a basis capitulum more like that of a hard tick (Ixodidae). We refer it to Khimairidae fam. nov. as a possible transitional form between the two main families of ticks alive today. Another member of the extinct Deinocrotonidae is described as Deinocroton copia sp. nov., while the first described adult female for Cornupalpatum burmanicum is associated with a dinosaur feather barb.https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/parasitologyhj2023Veterinary Tropical Disease

Haemaphysalis hoodi (Acari: Ixodidae) on a human from Yaoundé, Cameroon, and its molecular characterization

The genus Haemaphysalis Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) is the second-largest genus, with more than 170 described species that primarily parasitize mammals and birds (Guglielmone et al. 2014, Guglielmone et al. 2020). Haemaphysalis species are three-host ticks, mainly distributed in southern and southeastern Asia and tropical Africa (Guglielmone et al. 2014). The present study identified a tick, Haemaphysalis hoodi Warburton & Nuttall, 1909, collected from a human in Yaoundé, Cameroon. This tick species feed on birds in sub-Saharan Africa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second record of H. hoodi from humans. In addition, 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome oxidase I sequences were generated for this species for the first time. Screening pan-Rickettsia-PCR infection gave a negative result.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.https://link.springer.com/journal/436hj2023Veterinary Tropical Disease

Zecken in der Stadt

Die Zunahme urbaner Lebensräume auf unserer Erde führt zu neuen und veränderten ökologischen Zonen und Beziehungsgefügen auch für Parasiten. Das Beispiel von drei verschiedenen Zeckenarten (Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus) zeigt, dass diese sich in unterschiedlichem Maße auf diese neuen Lebensräume adaptieren können und damit zu einem veränderten Risiko für die Übertragung von Pathogenen führen. Eine Generalisierung für einen Anstieg des Infektionsrisikos durch Zecken-übertragene Infektionen im Zuge der Urbanisierung ist damit nicht möglich. Jede in Frage kommende Zeckenart muss individuell aufgrund des jeweiligen Lebenszyklus betrachtet und eine Risikoeinschätzung der durch die Art übertragenen Pathogene vorgenommen werden. Tick species in the City: The increase in urban habitats causes new and changed ecological zones and systems. These changed new urban environments will be also used by new emerging and invading parasites. These changes will have a different impact for different tick species. The examples of three different tick species (Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus) show that each tick species may adapt in a different way to new urban habitats and may therefore cause changed risks of transmission of pathogens. A forecast of a generally increased risk of tick-transmitted infections is therefore non-reliable. The potential change of risk has to be evaluated individually for each tick species and its transmitted pathogens according to the respective tick life cycle

First detection of Hyalomma rufipes in Germany

Hyalomma rufipes, a two-host tick, is the most widespread Hyalomma species in Africa. In December 2015, an ixodid tick male with an unusual morphology was detected on a horse in a stable near Mainz in the Federal State Rhineland-Palatine. For identification purposes, the tick was preserved in alcohol and sent to our laboratory. The morphology of the tick showed specific characteristics of H. rufipes. The 16S rDNA sequence of H. rufipes from Germany was identical to the corresponding 16S rDNA sequence of H. rufipes from Tanzania, and they both were closely related to Hyalomma marginatum. The tick was tested with a real-time PCR for rickettsiae and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus with negative results.EEA RafaelaFil: Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia. German Center of Infection Research (DZIF). Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Nava, Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentina.Fil: Bestehorn, Malena. German Center of Infection Research (DZIF). Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Dobler, Gerhard. German Center of Infection Research (DZIF). Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Wölfel, Silke. German Center of Infection Research (DZIF). Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology; Alemani

Repeated isolation of tick-borne encephalitis virus from adult Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in an endemic area in Germany

Abstract Background Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is transmitted to humans and animals through tick bites and is thought to circulate in very strictly defined natural environments called natural foci. The most common tick serving as a vector for the TBE virus in central Europe is Ixodes ricinus; it is rarely found in other tick species and in Dermacentor reticulatus it has, so far, only been reported in Poland. Methods Between autumn 2016 and spring 2018 ticks were collected by the flagging method in a new TBE focus in the district of northern Saxony, Germany, outside the known risk areas as defined by the national Robert Koch Institute. Ticks were morphologically identified and tested in pools for the presence of TBE virus using a real-time RT-PCR. TBE virus from positive pools was isolated in A549 cells, and the E gene sequences were determined after conventional RT-PCR, followed by a phylogenetic comparison. Results TBE virus was detected in 11 pools, 9 times in flagged adults D. reticulatus (n = 1534; MIR: 0.59%, CI: 0.29–11.3%) and only twice in I. ricinus nymphs (n = 349; MIR: 0.57%, CI: 0.02–2.2%). All other ticks, I. ricinus males (n = 33), females (n = 30) and larvae (n = 58), as well as 5 I. inopinatus (2 females, 3 males) and 14 Haemaphysalis concinna (3 females, 11 nymphs), tested negative for TBE virus. TBE virus was not detected in I. ricinus during the summer, when D. reticulatus is not active. Sequence comparison of the entire E gene of the isolated virus strains resembled each other with only 3 nucleotide differences. The most closely related viral sequences belong to TBE virus strains from Poland and Neustadt an der Waldnaab (county of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Bavaria), approximately 200 km east and 200 km south-west of the new focus, respectively. Conclusions TBE virus was found in northern Saxony, Germany, with similar MIRs in D. reticulatus and I. ricinus, indicating that D. reticulatus plays an equal role to I. ricinus in virus circulation when both tick species are sympatric

Long-Term Itching in a Tourist Following Bite by a Nymph of Dermacentor auratus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Cambodia

The impact of tick bites during holidays in tropical countries is seldom reported. Here, we describe long-term skin alterations and itching experienced by a German tourist following the bite of a nymph of Dermacentor auratus Supino, 1897 in Cambodia. Tick infestation may be neglected by travelers. Therefore, careful travel history is necessary when travelers report a tick bite after spending holiday in tropical and subtropical countries.Fil: Chitimia Dobler, Lidia. Bundeswehr Institute Of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Schaper, Sabine. Bundeswehr Institute Of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Bröker, Michael. Bundeswehr Institute Of Microbiology; AlemaniaFil: Nava, Santiago. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea. - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea; Argentin

The presence of Rhipicephalus muhsamae north of the Sahara

The occurrence of male and female Rhipicephalus muhsamae feeding on dogs and a horse in Upper Egypt is described. The morphological identification was verified using partial 16S rRNA gene sequences. By applying respective real-time PCRs, no evidence neither for Coxiella burnetii nor for spotted-fever rickettsia infections were found in the ticks.Fil: Langguth, Johanna. University of Leipzig; AlemaniaFil: Chitimia Dobler, Lidia. Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology; Alemania. German Center of Infection Research; AlemaniaFil: Nava, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Pfeffer, Martin. University of Leipzig; Alemani