Only a small number of tick species are vectors of important economic diseases or toxicosis in sub-Saharan Africa (see Table 1). These are Amblyomma hebraeum, Amblyomma variegatum, Hyalomma dromedarii, Hyalomma truncatum, Ixodes rubicundus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus zambe...

Four species of ticks were retrieved from burrows of 64 multimammate rats, Mastomys erythroleucus (Temminck), 55-gerbils, Taterillus gracilis (Thomas) or T. pygargus (Cuvier), 13 Nile rats, Arvicanthis niloticus (DeMarest), and five Geoffroy's ground squirrels, Xerus erythropus (Geoffroy) from May 1987 through August 1988 at two study sites in northern Senegal. Ornithodoros sonrai Sautet & Witk...

Borrelia hermsii is a blood-borne pathogen transmitted by the argasid tick Ornithodoros hermsi. Since spirochaete clearance in mice is associated with an IgM-mediated response, an immunoproteomic analysis was used to identify proteins reactive with IgM. We report that IgM from both mice and human patients infected with B. hermsii not only reacted with the previously identified variable membrane...

In July 2013, a resident of the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana, USA, contracted tickborne relapsing fever caused by an infection with the spirochete Borrelia hermsii. The patient's travel history and activities before onset of illness indicated a possible exposure on his residential property on the eastern side of the valley. An onsite investigation of the potential exposure site found th...

The relapsing fever spirochete, Borrelia hermsii, alternates infections between a mammal and a tick vector. Whether the spirochete changes phenotypically in the different hosts was examined by allowing the tick vector Ornithodoros hermsi to feed on mice infected with serotype 7 or serotype 8 of B. hermsii. Upon infection of ticks, the spirochetal serotype-specific variable major proteins (Vmps)...

Coxiella burnetii is known for its potential as veterinary and human bacterial pathogen. The bacteria have been described in ticks, but their role transmission of Q fever humans considered low. endosymbionts closely related to C. also isolated from an extensive range tick species evidence growing that these could be linked bacteremia. aim this study was get new information on the presence ticks...