Notes on the Rabbit Tick, Haemaphysalis leporis-palustris (Packard), and Tularemia in Central Alaska

Philip, Cornelius B.; Gill, Gordon D.; Geary, John M.

doi:10.2307/3273911

Cited by 5 publications

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“…The high virulence in both species suggests that the isolate may have been type A. Later, an additional two virulent and likely type A isolates were obtained when suspensions of ground ticks removed from two healthy hares were inoculated into guinea pigs [ 12 , 13 ]. Isolates collected from subsequent animals indicated the presence of a less virulent type, likely type B.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tularemia in Alaska, 1938 - 2010

et al. 2011

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Tularemia is a serious, potentially life threatening zoonotic disease. The causative agent, Francisella tularensis, is ubiquitous in the Northern hemisphere, including Alaska, where it was first isolated from a rabbit tick (Haemophysalis leporis-palustris) in 1938. Since then, F. tularensis has been isolated from wildlife and humans throughout the state. Serologic surveys have found measurable antibodies with prevalence ranging from < 1% to 50% and 4% to 18% for selected populations of wildlife species and humans, respectively. We reviewed and summarized known literature on tularemia surveillance in Alaska and summarized the epidemiological information on human cases reported to public health officials. Additionally, available F. tularensis isolates from Alaska were analyzed using canonical SNPs and a multi-locus variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) system. The results show that both F. t. tularensis and F. t. holarctica are present in Alaska and that subtype A.I, the most virulent type, is responsible for most recently reported human clinical cases in the state.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tularemia in Alaska, 1938 - 2010

et al. 2011

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“…Phillip et al (108) and Hopla (69,70) have presented the only evidence thus far that arthropods are involved with diseases in nature transmissible to man in the subarctic regions of Alaska, and their evidence was actually an indirect relationship with tularemia and the rabbit tic (Haemaphysalis leporis-palustris). The only reference to mosquitoes applicable in this regard was reported by Olin (105) in Sweden.…”

Section: Zoonotic Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alaskan Hematophagous Insects, Their Feeding Habits and Potential as Vectors of Pathogenic Organisms. 2. The Feeding Habits and Colonization of Subarctic Mosquitoes

Hopla¹

1965

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A Molecular Survey forFrancisella tularensisandRickettsiaspp. inHaemaphysalis leporispalustris(Acari: Ixodidae) in Northern California

2016

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Francisella tularensis and Rickettsia spp. have been cultured from Haemaphysalis leporispalustris Packard, but their prevalence in this tick has not been determined using modern molecular methods. We collected H. leporispalustris by flagging vegetation and leaf litter and from lagomorphs (Lepus californicus Gray and Sylvilagus bachmani (Waterhouse)) in northern California. Francisella tularensis DNA was not detected in any of 1,030 ticks tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), whereas 0.4% of larvae tested in pools, 0 of 117 individual nymphs, and 2.3% of 164 adult ticks were PCR-positive for Rickettsia spp. Positive sites were Laurel Canyon Trail in Tilden Regional Park in Alameda Contra Costa County, with a Rickettsia spp. prevalence of 0.6% in 2009, and Hopland Research and Extension Center in Mendocino County, with a prevalence of 4.2% in 1988. DNA sequencing revealed R. felis, the agent of cat-flea typhus, in two larval pools from shaded California bay and live oak leaf litter in Contra Costa County and one adult tick from a L. californicus in chaparral in Mendocino County. The R. felis in unfed, questing larvae demonstrates that H. leporispalustris can transmit this rickettsia transovarially. Although R. felis is increasingly found in diverse arthropods and geographical regions, prior literature suggests a typical epidemiological cycle involving mesocarnivores and the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of R. felis in H. leporispalustris. Natural infection and transovarial transmission of this pathogen in the tick indicate the existence of a previously undocumented wild-lands transmission cycle that may intersect mesocarnivore-reservoired cycles and collectively affect human health risk.

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Notes on the Rabbit Tick, Haemaphysalis leporis-palustris (Packard), and Tularemia in Central Alaska

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Tularemia in Alaska, 1938 - 2010

Tularemia in Alaska, 1938 - 2010

Alaskan Hematophagous Insects, Their Feeding Habits and Potential as Vectors of Pathogenic Organisms. 2. The Feeding Habits and Colonization of Subarctic Mosquitoes

A Molecular Survey forFrancisella tularensisandRickettsiaspp. inHaemaphysalis leporispalustris(Acari: Ixodidae) in Northern California

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