Four Year Surveillance of the Vector Hard Ticks for SFTS, Ganghwa-do, Republic of Korea.

Four Year Surveillance of the Vector Hard Ticks for SFTS, Ganghwa-do, Republic of Korea. Korean J Parasitol. 2019 Dec;57(6):691-698 Authors: Kim-Jeon MD, Jegal S, Jun H, Jung H, Park SH, Ahn SK, Lee J, Gong YW, Joo K, Kwon MJ, Roh JY, Lee WG, Bahk YY, Kim TS Abstract The seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus was monitored with a collection trap method every April to November during 2015-2018 and with a flagging method every July and August during 2015-2018 in Ganghwa-do (island) of Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. This monitoring was performed in a copse, a short grass field, coniferous forest and broad-leaved forest. A total of 17,457 ticks (8,277 larvae, 4,137 nymphs, 3,389 females, and 1,654 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) were collected with collection traps. Of the identified ticks, H. longicornis was the most frequently collected ticks (except larval ticks) (94.26%, 8,653/9,180 ticks (nymphs and adults)), followed by H. flava (5.71%, 524/9,180) and Ix. nipponensis (less than 0.04%, 3/9,180). The ticks collected with collecting traps were pooled and assayed for the presence of SFTS virus with negative results. In addition, for monitoring the prevalence of hard ticks, a total of 7,461 ticks (5,529 larvae, 1,272 nymphs, 469 females, and 191 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 spe...
Source: Korean Journal of Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Tags: Korean J Parasitol Source Type: research