Taxonomic uncertainty as to the identities of Hyalomma (Euhyalomma) scupense Schulze, 1919 and Hyalomma detritum Schulze, 1919 has existed for nearly 85 years. The chief criterion used to consider these taxa as separate species has been an ecological feature, namely that H. scupense is a one-host tick while H. detritum is a two-host species. Morphologically they are identical. To date no compre...

Ticks are important acarina that infest animals. They are obligatory blood sucker arthropods which economically impact cattle industry by reducing weight gain and production. Moreover, they are important vectors of viral, bacterial, rickettsial and parasitic pathogens infecting humans and animals. In view of the importance of Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum in pathogen transmission, including Th...

The role of migratory birds in circulation tick-borne viruses needs to be better defined. In order to assess the potential role of migratory birds in exotic virus spread, we conducted a study to identify ticks collected from migratory birds in the Central Region of Italy, and performed molecular investigation for Crimea-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHFV), West Nile fever (WNFV) and Usutu (USUV) in...

Approximately 3000 birds, mainly passerines, caught in mist nets in the northern provinces of South Africa, were examined for ticks. A total of 178 ticks, belonging to 14 species, were recovered from 83 birds of 43 different species. Hyalomma rufipes was the most numerous tick, with 26 larvae and 109 nymphs collected, followed by Amblyomma marmoreum, with 13 larvae and two nymphs. Despite the s...

An unidentified Babesia sp. which causes a mild disease in cattle was isolated in a splenectomized ox that received pooled blood from field cattle. That this organism is pleomorphic and resembles Babesia occultans makes it difficult to differentiate between these organisms microscopically. Initially, it was suspected that this Babesia could be B. occultans. Several attempts to transmit this par...

Hyalomnma (Euhyalomma) lusitanicum Koch, 1844 and Hyalomma (Euhyalomma) franchinii Tonelli Rondelli, 1932 are amongst the most poorly studied of those species within the genus Hyalomma Koch, 1844 that are restricted to the Mediterranean region. No comprehensive morphological study has been done to date, and the immature stages of H. (E.) franchinii have not been described. Here all the parasiti...

Background: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal tick-borne viral disease. Hard ticks are both carriers and reservoirs of the CCHF virus. In this regard, the present study is aimed to investigate the CCHF virus infection in collected ticks from livestock in Gonabad City (southwest of Razavi Khorasan province) in eastern Iran. Methods: This descriptive study was perfo...