Ticks in Australia: endemics; exotics; which ticks bite humans?

Abstract

At least 71 species of ticks occur in Australia; a further 33 or so species are endemic to its neighbours, New Guinea and New Zealand. The ticks of Australia and other parts of Australasia are phylogenetically distinct. Indeed, there are at least two lineages of ticks that are unique to Australasia: the genus Bothriocroton Klompen, Dobson & Barker, 2002; and the new genus Archaeocroton Barker & Burger, 2018. Two species of ticks that are endemic to Australia are notorious for feeding on humans: (i) Ixodes holocyclus, the eastern paralysis tick, in eastern Australia; and (ii) Amblyomma triguttatum triguttatum, the ornate kangaroo tick, in Western Australia, at one place in South Australia, and in parts of Queensland. Three of the other endemic species of ticks that feed on humans in Australia are also noteworthy: (i) Bothriocroton hydrosauri, the southern reptile tick, which is a vector of Rickettsia honei (Flinders Island spotted fever); (ii) Haemaphysalis novaeguineae, the New Guinea haemaphysalid; and (iii) Ornithodoros capensis, the seabird soft tick. Here, we present images of female Ixodes holocyclus, Amblyomma t. triguttatum, Bothriocroton hydrosauri and Haemaphysalis novaeguineae and our latest maps of the geographic distributions of Ixodes holocyclus, Amblyomma t. triguttatum and Bothriocroton hydrosauri. None of the five exotic species of ticks in Australia typically feed on humans.

Survey of cases of tick‐paralysis and the presence of the eastern paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, and the southern paralysis tick, Ixodes cornuatus, in the Greater Melbourne Area

“…I. cornuatus was historically referred to as the ‘Tasmanian paralysis tick’; however, as proposed by Barker et al in 2014, the name ‘southern paralysis tick’ is more appropriate due to the substantial geographic distribution of I. cornuatus on mainland Australia, particularly in Victoria . I. holocyclus , known in Australia as the ‘paralysis tick’ for over 100 years, has a geographic distribution along most of the east coast of Australia (Barker and Barker 2018, Figure 2); thus, it is more appropriately described as the ‘eastern paralysis tick’ to unambiguously differentiate it from the ‘southern paralysis tick’.…”

Year-round efficacy of a single treatment of fluralaner injectable suspension (Bravecto Quantum™) against repeated infestations with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) and Ctenocephalides felis in dogs

“…The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato), is an important parasite to the medical and veterinary communities due to vector competence for several pathogens. Dogs are the primary host of this tick, which thrives in tropical and subtropical areas where its host-seeking aggressiveness is enhanced by a warm climate [ 9 – 11 ]. The expanding geographic distribution of R. sanguineus s.l.…”

Year-round efficacy of a single treatment of fluralaner injectable suspension (Bravecto QuantumTM) against repeated infestations with Ixodes holocyclus in dogs

“…The Australian paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus , recognized since colonial times, causes an ascending flaccid paralysis in a wide range of domestic animals (including dogs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep) and humans [ 1 ]. As suggested by its alternative name, the eastern paralysis tick, the enzootic range of I. holocyclus extends south along the eastern coast of Australia, from northern Queensland, through New South Wales, to Gippsland in Victoria [ 2 , 3 ]. Normally found within 20 km of the coast, I. holocyclus has been isolated in areas more than 100 km inland, including Toowoomba in Queensland and the Lower Blue Mountains in New South Wales, while epizootic cases of tick paralysis caused by I. holocyclus have been reported in Melbourne in the south [ 4 , 5 ].…”