Parasitism of Reptiles by the Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes scapularis) and Western Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes pacificus) with New Records of I. scapularis from Arkansas and Oklahoma Lizards: Implications for Lyme Disease Epidemiology

摘要

Worldwide, at least 116 species of ticks are known to parasitize reptiles (Barnard and Durden 2000). For some of these tick species, including members of the Holarctic Ixodes ricinus complex (including I. pacificus, I. persulcatus, I. ricinus, and I. scapularis), the immature stages (larvae and nymphs) often feed on reptiles whereas adults mainly feed on larger mammals, including humans (Clark et al. 2013; Keirans et al. 1999). The aforementioned four species in this complex have significant medical and veterinary importance as zoonotic vectors of the causative agents of Lyme disease (= Lyme borreliosis), human babesiosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, and or tick-borne encephalitis in the northern hemisphere (Nicholson et al. 2009).