Detection of Human Blood in the Bat Tick <I>Carios</I> (<I>Ornithodoros</I>) <I>kelleyi</I> (Acari: Argasidae) in Iowa
33
Citation
10
Reference
10
Related Paper
Citation Trend
Abstract:
The argasid tick Carios (Ornithodoros) kelleyi Cooley & Kohls is a common ectoparasite of bats and has been found in massive numbers in homes with associated bat colonies in eastern Iowa. This tick feeds nearly exclusively on bats in nature. Several inhabitants of infested homes complained of "bug bites" at night while asleep that may have resulted in erythematous, edematous, urticaric skin lesions and constitutional signs and symptoms. We provide laboratory evidence that a single, engorged C. kelleyi nymph contained host blood from a human female. The clinical implications of our findings are intriguing but unclear.Keywords:
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Cite
Citations (0)
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Ecdysis
Cite
Citations (10)
We report a case of infestation of a long-term laboratory colony of soft ticks, Ornithodoros moubata, with mites that were molecularly identified as Tyrophagus fanetzhangorum using the COI gene and discuss the possible nature of the interaction between these two acarines.
Argasidae
Acaridae
Ornithodoros
Tick infestation
Cite
Citations (1)
A consideration of the facts presented in the foregoing pages appears to warrant certain conclusions which must, however, be regarded in part as provisional and subject to revision when our knowledge of the various species of ticks has become more extended. The views here expressed may prove of practical use in the study of the Ixodidae. The Argasidae represent the relatively primitive type of ticks because they are less constantly parasitic than are the Ixodidae. Their nymphs and adults are rapid feeders and chiefly infest the habitat of their hosts. In certain Argasidae ( O. moubata and O. savignyi ) the disadvantage of their possessing an “active” larval stage has resulted in the development of an “inactive” larva, i.e. the young nymph being the first to suck blood. In O. megnini we have a considerable adaptation brought about by the difficulty there must be in the tick entering the small aperture of the ear more than once. Owing to the Argasidae infesting the habitats of their hosts, their resistance to prolonged starvation and their rapid feeding habits, they do not need to bring forth a large progeny, because there is less loss of life in the various stages, as compared to Ixodidae, prior to their attaining maturity. The Ixodidae are more highly specialized parasites than the preceding. The majority are parasitic on hosts having no fixed habitat and consequently all stages, as a rule, occur upon the host. In the genus Ixodes we find an adaptation of certain species according to the habits of the hosts upon which they are parasitic. In the species which usually occur upon wandering hosts both sexes are found upon the host, whereas in other species which occur on hosts possessing more or less fixed habitats the males are rarely or never found upon the host. The males of species of Ixodes , both sexes of which occur upon the host, are characterized, as a rule, by the possession of hypostomes with prominent teeth, the reverse being the case in forms wherein the males do not occur upon the host. Where species occur upon a wandering host it is essential, for their propagation in nature, that both sexes should be carried about upon the host.
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Cite
Citations (24)
The argasid tick Carios (Ornithodoros) kelleyi Cooley & Kohls is a common ectoparasite of bats and has been found in massive numbers in homes with associated bat colonies in eastern Iowa. This tick feeds nearly exclusively on bats in nature. Several inhabitants of infested homes complained of "bug bites" at night while asleep that may have resulted in erythematous, edematous, urticaric skin lesions and constitutional signs and symptoms. We provide laboratory evidence that a single, engorged C. kelleyi nymph contained host blood from a human female. The clinical implications of our findings are intriguing but unclear.
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Cite
Citations (33)
Tick-infested bats, rodents and marsupials were captured along the Iquitos-Nauta highway, Loreto Department, in the Peruvian Amazon. The only ticks found on Chiroptera were members of the Ornithodoros hasei (Schulze, 1935) species group, collected from Noctilio albiventris Desmarest, 1818, Rhinophylla pumilio Peters, 1865 and Myotis albescens (É. Geoffroy, 1806). Rhinophylla pumilio is a new host and M. albescens was confirmed as a host for the O. hasei group. Among Rodentia, Oecomys bicolor (Tomes, 1860), Oligoryzomys microtis (Allen, 1916), Hylaeamys perenensis (Allen, 1901) and Hylaeamys yunganus (Thomas, 1902) were infested with larvae (O. bicolor) or nymphs (other three rodents) of Ixodes luciae Sénevet, 1940; all are new hosts for I. luciae. Tick infestation was more diverse among the Didelphimorphia, where a nymph and larva of Amblyomma sp. were collected on Philander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758), a nymph of Amblyomma sp. on Caluromys lanatus (Olfers, 1818), and a larva of Ixodes pararicinus Keirans & Clifford, 1985 on Monodelphis adusta (Thomas, 1897). Monodelphis adusta is a new host for I. pararicinus. Caluromys lanatus, Marmosops sp., Metachirus nudicaudatus (Desmarest, 1817), Micoureus sp., Philander andersoni (Osgood, 1913) and P. opossum were parasitized with larvae (Micoureus sp.) or adults (all other didelphids) of I. luciae. With the exception of P. opossum, all these marsupials are new hosts for I. luciae.
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Cite
Citations (12)
The individual effects of temperature, desiccation, chloroform, inert dusts, and molting on cuticular permeability of Hyalomma (H.) dromedarii (Ixodidae) and Ornithodoros (0.) savignyi (Argasidae) were studied. Permeability was low in both species, particularly in 0. savignyi. In un- fed H. dromedarii, permeability was lower in the male than in the female, but in 0. savignyi there was no significant difference between the sexes. In both species, adults were less permeable when unfed than when engorged. The transition temperature of epicuticular waxes was 52 C for H. dromedarii and 63 C for 0. savignyi. The permeability/temperature curves for both species were of the L-shaped type, indicating the presence of a single epicuticular wax layer. Permeability was not greatly affected at lower temperatures after heating to a temperature several degrees below transition but was per- manently damaged following heating above the transition temperature. Permeability decrease when the ticks were desiccated in low relative humidity ranges was shown to be independent of cuticular hydration. Permeability was not affected by subjecting unfed and engorged ticks to chloroform vapor or cold chloroform, but was greatly increased by action of boiling chloroform. Thus, it is postulated that a cement layer covers the epicuticular wax layer of both tick species. In a comparative study of the effect of 7 inert dusts, the permeability of both species was increased only by abrasion; no ad- sorptive action was observed, possibly because of the presence of the cement layer. Ticks kept in a humid atmosphere after abrasion reestablished some degree of impermeability by secreting new waxes, mostly during the first 24 hr following abrasion. During molting, cuticular permeability remained constant to the moment of shedding the exuviae, when it increased greatly. Three or 4 days after molting, ticks held at 28 C and 85% relative humidity again achieved their standard impermeability; lower humid- ities accelerated this process. Achievement of the standard permeability level probably coincides with secretion of the cement layer.
Argasidae
Hyalomma
Ornithodoros
Cite
Citations (40)
Additional research on soft ticks in the family Argasidae is needed to bridge the knowledge gap relative to hard ticks of the family Ixodidae; especially, the molecular mechanisms of the Ornithodoros biology. Ornithodoros species are vectors of human and animal pathogens that include tick-borne relapsing fever spirochetes and African swine fever virus. Soft tick vector-pathogen interactions involving components of the tick immune response are not understood. Ticks utilize a basic innate immune system consisting of recognition factors and cellular and humoral responses to produce antimicrobial peptides like defensins. In the present study we identified and characterized the first putative defensins of Ornithodoros turicata, an argasid tick found primarily in the southwestern United States and regions of Latin America. Four genes (otdA, otdB, otdC, and otdD) were identified through sequencing and their predicted amino acid sequences contained motifs characteristic of arthropod defensins. A phylogenetic analysis grouped these four genes with arthropod defensins, and computational structural analyses further supported the identification. Since pathogens transmitted by O. turicata colonize both the midgut and salivary glands, expression patterns of the putative defensins were determined in these tissues one week post engorgement and after molting. Defensin genes up-regulated in the tick midgut one week post blood feeding were otdA and otdC, while otdD was up-regulated in the midgut of post-molt ticks. Moreover, otdB and otdD were also up-regulated in the salivary glands of flat post-molt ticks, while otdC was up-regulated within one week post blood-feeding. This work is foundational toward additional studies to determine mechanisms of vector competence and pathogen transmission from O. turicata.
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Cecropin
Cite
Citations (4)
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Tick-borne disease
Cite
Citations (1)
Ornithodoros hermsi Wheeler (Acari: Argasidae) is the vector of Borrelia hermsii, the primary cause of tick-borne relapsing fever in North America. This tick is one of the smallest Ornithodoros species involved with the biological transmission of spirochetes; yet, the amount of blood ingested while feeding is unknown. Therefore, we determined the amount of blood O. hermsi ingested during a bloodmeal to establish its potential for spirochete acquisition while feeding on an infected host. Ticks at different developmental stages were weighed before and after feeding and the volume of blood ingested was calculated. Females ingested the most blood, averaging ≈15 μl per meal, but late-stage nymphs took in the most blood in proportion to unfed body weight. A cohort of nymphs was weighed three more times during the 48 h after feeding, which demonstrated that O. hermsi may have excreted coxal fluid ranging from 24 −36% of the bloodmeal weight. We also developed a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method to determine the number of spirochetes ingested and maintained within the ticks after feeding. The density of spirochetes in ticks having just engorged was slightly less than in the host's blood. In the first 5 d after feeding, the number of spirochetes within the ticks declined from the number initially ingested but then remained constant through 15 d. These observations establish a basis for future studies to determine the minimum number of spirochetes required in the host's blood to allow O. hermsi to become persistently infected and transmit during subsequent bloodmeals.
Argasidae
Ornithodoros
Blood meal
relapsing fever
Cite
Citations (34)