Tick surveillance in four southwestern provinces of the Republic of Korea during 2013

Abstract Tick-borne disease surveillance was conducted monthly at different sites in four southwestern provinces of the Republic of Korea (ROK) from April—October 2013. Three general habitats were surveyed: grasses (grasses and herbaceous and crawling vegetation), forests (pine, larch, deciduous, and mixed), and forests+grasses. A total of 27,029 ticks (1,534 adults; 11,755 nymphs; 13,740 larvae) belonging to three genera and five species were collected. Haemaphysalis longicornis (64.76%; 17,504) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by Haemaphysalis flava (29.22%; 7,899), Ixodes nipponensis (5.83%; 1,575), Amblyomma testudinarium (0.17%; 46), and Haemaphysalis phasiana (0.02%; 5). Overall, adult ticks accounted for only 5.68% of all ticks collected, while nymphs and larvae accounted for 43.49% and 50.83%, respectively. Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs were commonly collected from April—June, followed by increased numbers of adults from June—August, and large numbers of larvae from August—Septemb...