Ticks are obligate haematophagous arthropods present all over the world able to produce human diseases. Several factors have increased the abundance, circulation and distribution of the pathogens transmitted by ticks, contributing to the change in the vector-borne diseases epidemiology in the last years. This review collects the most important measures for the prevention and prophylaxis of tick...

BACKGROUND Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis is an emerging life-threatening zoonosis caused by obligately intracellular bacterium, Ehrlichia chaffeensis. E. chaffeensis is transmitted by the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, and replicates in mononuclear phagocytes in mammalian hosts. Differences in the E. chaffeensis transcriptome in mammalian and arthropod hosts are unknown. Thus, we det...

Ticks are hematophagous arachnids transmitting a wide variety of pathogens including viruses, bacteria, and protozoans to their vertebrate hosts. The tick vector competence has to be intimately linked to the ability of transmitted pathogens to evade tick defense mechanisms encountered on their route through the tick body comprising midgut, hemolymph, salivary glands or ovaries. Tick innate immu...

We report the finding of a female brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) on the scalp of a male patient inPorto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Human parasitism by this tick is rare and has seldomly been reported in the literature, despite its recognized importance since it can act as a vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of spotted fever.

Ticks, as vectors of several zoonotic diseases, are ranked second only to mosquitoes as vectors. The diseases spread by ticks are a major constraint to animal productivity while causing morbidity and mortality in both animals and humans. A number of tick species have been recognised since long as vectors of lethal pathogens, viz. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Kyasanur forest d...

hyalomma marginatum rufipes (acari: ixodidae) along with three closely related subspecies is considered as marginatum group. the subspecies had proven as main vector of crimean congo hemorrhagic fever virus, the cause of human death in asia, africa and europe. this tick is also a vector of parasitic protozoan theileria annulata, agent of tropical theileriosis in cattle. nonetheless, taxonomical...

Tick-borne relapsing fever in western North America is a zoonosis caused by the spirochete bacterium, Borrelia hermsii, which is transmitted by the bite of infected Ornithodoros hermsi ticks. The pathogen is maintained in natural cycles involving small rodent hosts such as chipmunks and tree squirrels, as well as the tick vector. In order for these ticks to establish sustained and viable popula...

INTRODUCTION The most significant vector of tick-borne pathogens in the United States is Ixodes scapularis Say (the blacklegged tick). Previous studies have identified significant genetic, behavioral and morphological differences between northern vs. southern populations of this tick. Because tick-borne pathogens are dependent on their vectors for transmission, a baseline understanding of the v...

BACKGROUND Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794) is distributed in Europe and Asia where it infests and transmits disease-causing pathogens to humans, pets and other domestic and wild animals. However, despite its role as a vector of emerging or re-emerging diseases, very little information is available on the genome, transcriptome and proteome of D. reticulatus. Tick larvae are the first d...

Many vector-borne pathogens consist of multiple strains that circulate in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector. Characterization of the community of pathogen strains in the arthropod vector is therefore important for understanding the epidemiology of mixed vector-borne infections. Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii are two species of tick-borne bacteria that cause Lyme disease in huma...