Identification and Distribution of Human-Biting Ticks in Northwestern Spain

Insects

Rufino del Álamo-Sanz¹  Carlos Pedroza Pérez²  Moncef Belhassen-García²  Julio David Soto López²  María Belén Vicente Santiago²  María Carmen Vieira Lista²  Antonio Muro²  Javier Sánchez-Montejo²  Lía Carolina Monsalve Arteaga³  Zaida Herrador⁴  Agustin Benito⁴ 

[1] Consejería de Sanidad Junta Castilla y León, 47007 Valladolid, Spain;Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Group (e-INTRO), Biomedical Research Institute of Salamanca-Research Centre for Tropical Diseases at the University of Salamanca (IBSAL-CIETUS), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain;Internal Medicine Department, Ensemble Hospitalier de la Côte, 1110 Morges, Switzerland;National Centre for Tropical Medicine, Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII), 28029 Madrid, Spain;

关键词: tick bites;    Ixodidae;    epidemiology: emerging diseases;    Spain;   

DOI  :  10.3390/insects13050469

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Ticks transmit a wide diversity of pathogens to a great variety of hosts, including humans. We conducted a tick surveillance study in northwestern Spain between 2014 and 2019. Ticks were removed from people and identified. Tick numbers, species, development stages, the timeline, seasonal and geographical distribution and epidemiological characteristics of people bitten by ticks were studied. We collected ticks from 8143 people. Nymphs of I. ricinus were the most frequently collected. Rhipicephalus bursa, R. sanguineus s.l., Hy. marginatum, Hy. lusitanicum, D. marginatus, D. reticulatus and H. punctata were also found, with adults as the main stage. The number of collected Hyalomma spp. and R. bursa has been progressively increasing over time. Although bites occurred throughout the year, the highest number of incidents was reported from April to July. The distribution patterns of the tick species were different between the north and the south of the region, which was related to cases detected in humans of the pathogens they carried. Adult men were more likely to be bitten by ticks than women. Ticks were most frequently removed from adults from the lower limbs, while for children, they were mainly attached to the head. Epidemiological surveillance is essential given the increase in tick populations in recent years, mainly of species potentially carrying pathogens causing emerging diseases in Spain, such as Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCFH).

【 授权许可】

Unknown