BACKGROUND The status of flea infestation in dogs is an important public health concern because of their cosmopolitan distribution worldwide and the flea-borne disease transmission. In the present study, we investigated the flea infestation among 116 outdoor dogs (57 females and 59 males) in 8 rural areas of Jeonnam Province, Republic of Korea. RESULTS Thirty-three dogs (28.4%) were infested ...

Bovine trypanosomosis occurs in vast areas of southern Africa. Its epidemiology and impact on cattle production is determined largely by the level of interaction between tsetse and cattle. Four situations can be distinguished. First, areas where cattle are absent. Second, zones where cattle have been introduced in game areas but where game is still abundant and constitutes the major source of f...

We report observations on infestations with the tick, Amblyomma triguttatum, in soldiers who were bivouacked in two areas near Perth; 34% of 175 persons were infested with varying stages of the ectoparasite. Most persons were infested with only one tick but some troops had multiple infestations. Local skin reactions to tick-bites were frequent; they usually developed 24-48 h after removal of th...

Despite efforts to eradicate American trypanosomiasis (AT) and Chagas disease from the Americas, there are still areas of active transmission that can eventually become a source of reinfection in previously controlled regions. Mexico could be one of those areas, where there are no formal preventive control programs despite the presence of communities infested by Triatominae bugs infected with T...

The dispersal pattern of the widow spider Latrodectus hasseltii (Araneae: Theridiadae), in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, was analyzed from accumulated survey data of spider distribution. All confirmed infested points from 1996 to 2002 were plotted on a map, and infested points in each survey year were connected with the nearest previously confirmed points. Expansion patterns of the confirmed habitat...

To evaluate the role of migratory birds in the long-distance dispersal of Ixodes dammini ticks and in the spread of Lyme disease, a 6-year study of migrating birds to an offshore New England island was conducted during 1989-1994. I. dammini are not endemic on this island, therefore allowing assessment of long-distance tick dispersal rather than local infestation. Of 11,324 spring migrants exami...

Background: Pediculosis capitis is a common parasitic infection of children. In this study we assessed the prevalence of head pediculosis among the middle schoolchildren in the urban and rural areas of Fars province, southern Iran. Methods: All middle schoolchildren ages 11-14, in all the urban and rural areas of the province were screened for head lice infestation by examining their hair and s...