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Ticks and tick-borne diseases

Subject Editor
Anna Bajer, University of Warsaw, Poland

Associate Editors
Jairo Mendoza, PhD, University of Bari, Italy
Andrei Daniel Mihalca, PhD, MSc, DVM, Dipl. ECZM, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Sebastián Muñoz-Leal, DVM, DSc University of Concepción, Chile
Prof. Dr. med. vet. Cornelia Silaghi, Friedrich Loeffler Institut, Germany

The Ticks and tick-borne diseases section publishes studies looking at all aspects of ticks, including systematics, phylogenetics, taxonomy (including new species descriptions), evolution, ecology, biology, physiology, biochemistry, genomics, proteomics, and control. Studies relating to tick-borne pathogens (e.g., occurrence and prevalence in ticks and vertebrate hosts, coinfections, transmission, pathogen interactions with ticks and vertebrate hosts at the molecular and cellular levels) and tick-borne diseases (e.g., epidemiology, diagnosis, immunology, treatment, prevention and control) in domestic animals, wildlife and humans are also welcome.

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  1. There has been a long-standing debate over the taxonomic status of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato. Different studies worldwide have reported the occurrence of different well-defined lineages, in addition to

    Authors: Luisa Páez-Triana, Marina Muñoz, Giovanny Herrera, Darwin A. Moreno-Pérez, Gabriel A. Tafur-Gómez, Diego Montenegro, Manuel A. Patarroyo, Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi and Juan David Ramírez
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:424
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Gaining insight into the risk perceptions and the knowledge evolution of the public about emerging or changing health risks is vital for the improvement of health promotion activities. Currently, scientific ev...

    Authors: Silvia-Diana Borșan, Sabina Ramona Trif and Andrei Daniel Mihalca
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:423
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. We evaluated the efficiency of an ex vivo feeding technique using a silicone membrane-based feeding chamber to (i) assess the anti-feeding and acaricidal efficacy of a spot-on combination of dinotefuran, pyrip...

    Authors: Djamel Tahir, Btissam Asri, Leon Nicolaas Meyer, Alec Evans, Thomas Mather, Byron Blagburn, Reinhard K. Straubinger, Valérie Choumet, Frans Jongejan and Marie Varloud
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:416
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Ticks are common on horses, but recent publications characterizing equine tick infestations in North America are lacking.

    Authors: Kellee D. Sundstrom, Megan W. Lineberry, Amber N. Grant, Kathryn T. Duncan, Michelle M. Ientile and Susan E. Little
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:404
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. The argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata is the main vector in mainland Africa of African swine fever virus and the spirochete Borrelia duttoni, which causes human relapsing fever. The elimination of populations of

    Authors: Ana Oleaga, Angel Carnero-Morán, M. Luz Valero and Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:396
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Invasive arthropod vectors and the range expansions of native vectors can lead to public and veterinary health concerns, as these vectors may introduce novel pathogens or spread endemic pathogens to new locati...

    Authors: Danielle M. Tufts and Maria A. Diuk-Wasser
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:394
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. The salivary glands of female ticks degenerate rapidly by apoptosis and autophagy after feeding. Bcl-2 family proteins play an important role in the apoptosis pathways, but the functions of these proteins in t...

    Authors: Shanming Hu, Yanan Wang, Zhengmao Xu, Yongzhi Zhou, Jie Cao, Houshuang Zhang and Jinlin Zhou
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:386
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Borrelia miyamotoi is a newly described relapsing fever spirochete transmitted by ixodid tick species. Little is known about the prevalence of B. miyamotoi infections in humans and ticks in Inner Mongolia, China....

    Authors: Gaowa, Wulantuya, Kozue Sato, Dan Liu, Yunhong Cui, Xuhong Yin, Lihua Zhang, Hong Li, Tingfu Wang, Rongxin Liu, Lijing Wu, Saixia Lu, Ting Gao, Zitong Zhang, Minzhi Cao, Guodong Wang…
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:368
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Cryptosporidium is an opportunistic pathogen that infects a wide variety of vertebrates. The aim of the present study was to characterize Cryptosporidium spp. isolates from Bactrian camels and to foster further u...

    Authors: Luyang Wang, Letian Cao, Shuangjian Zheng, Yankai Chang, Kaihui Zhang, Sumei Zhang and Longxian Zhang
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:365
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Studies on ticks infesting equids are lacking in various parts of the world, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of ticks infesting equids, assoc...

    Authors: Abid Ali, Hafsa Zahid, Ismail Zeb, Muhammad Tufail, Sulaiman Khan, Muhammad Haroon, Muhammad Tufail, Muhammad Bilal, Majid Hussain, Abdulaziz S. Alouffi, Sebastián Muñoz-Leal and Marcelo B. Labruna
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:363
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Several ungulate species are feeding and propagation hosts for the tick Ixodes ricinus as well as hosts to a wide range of zoonotic pathogens. Here, we focus on Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi ...

    Authors: Nannet D. Fabri, Hein Sprong, Tim R. Hofmeester, Hans Heesterbeek, Björn F. Donnars, Fredrik Widemo, Frauke Ecke and Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:360
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common vector-borne disease in Europe. Monitoring changes in the prevalence of different Borrelia species in ticks may be an important indicator of risk assessment and of differe...

    Authors: Agnieszka Pawełczyk, Małgorzata Bednarska, Adrianna Hamera, Emilia Religa, Milena Poryszewska, Ewa J. Mierzejewska and Renata Welc-Falęciak
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:348
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites that play a pivotal role in the transmission of various pathogens to humans and animals. In Korea, Haemaphysalis longicornis is the predominant tick species and is recognized...

    Authors: Ju Yeong Kim, Myung-hee Yi, Alghurabi Areej Sabri Mahdi and Tai-Soon Yong
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:346
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) belongs to the genus Orthonairovirus (Nairovididae) and is a (re)emerging tick-borne pathogen. It is endemic in most parts of Africa, Asia and southern Europe, and ca...

    Authors: A. Schulz, Y. Barry, F. Stoek, M. J. Pickin, A. Ba, L. Chitimia-Dobler, M. L. Haki, B. A. Doumbia, A. Eisenbarth, A. Diambar, M. Y. Bah, M. Eiden and M. H. Groschup
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:342
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. Birds are major hosts for many tick species (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae), and their role is especially important in transporting ticks over large distances along their seasonal migratory routes. Accordingly, m...

    Authors: Attila D. Sándor, Boyan Milchev, Nóra Takács, Jenő Kontschán, Sándor Szekeres and Sándor Hornok
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:334
    Content type: Research Published on:

  16. The tick Haemaphysalis longicornis (Neumann) is a well-known vector of numerous pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. Various control strategies, including the use of synthetic pesticides, have been dev...

    Authors: Chuks F. Nwanade, Min Wang, Tianhong Wang, Xiaoyu Zhang, Can Wang, Zhijun Yu and Jingze Liu
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:330
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. Improved knowledge on vector-borne pathogens in wildlife will help determine their effect on host species at the population and individual level and whether these are affected by anthropogenic factors such as ...

    Authors: Jürgen Krücken, Gábor Á. Czirják, Sabrina Ramünke, Maria Serocki, Sonja K. Heinrich, Jörg Melzheimer, M. Carolina Costa, Heribert Hofer, Ortwin H. K. Aschenborn, Nancy A. Barker, Stefano Capodanno, Luís Madeira de Carvalho, Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Marion L. East and Bettina Wachter
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:328
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. The speed with which acaricides paralyze and kill ticks is relevant to impeding pathogen transmission. The objective of this study was to assess early-onset lotilaner effects on the motility and weights of Amblyo...

    Authors: Martha J. Wenger, Todd M. Kollasch, Madeline C. Burke, Livvy Jones, Casey Locklear, Makaela Hedberg, Lauren Miller, Sydnie Reeves, Debra Ritchie, Anthony J. Rumschlag, William G. Ryan, Vicki Smith, Cameron Sutherland, Kathryn E. Reif and Brian H. Herrin
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:322
    Content type: Research Published on:

  19. Theileria annulata is a protozoan parasite that can infect and transform bovine B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. The mechanism of the transformation is still not well understood, and some parasite molec...

    Authors: Zhi Li, Junlong Liu, Quanying Ma, Aihong Liu, Youquan Li, Guiquan Guan, Jianxun Luo and Hong Yin
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:319
    Content type: Research Published on:

  20. Haemaphysalis longicornis is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that transmits a variety of pathogens causing life-threatening diseases in humans and animals. Paramyosin (Pmy) is not only an invertebrate-spec...

    Authors: Pin-Xing Wu, Xue-Jiao Cui, Mi-Xue Cao, Li-Hong Lv, Hong-Meng Dong, Shu-Wen Xiao, Jing-Ze Liu and Yong-Hong Hu
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:309
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  21. Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) associated to ticks are among the most important health issues affecting dogs. In Italy, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia conorii and Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) ha...

    Authors: Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Giovanni Benelli, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Viet-Linh Nguyen, Giuseppe Conte, Roberta Iatta, Tommaso Furlanello and Domenico Otranto
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:292
    Content type: Research Published on:

  22. Various tick-borne infections like borreliosis and rickettsiosis pose a health risk to humans in many parts of the world. We investigated seroprevalence of and seroconversion to Borrelia burgdorferi and Rickettsi...

    Authors: Bo Bødker Jensen, Mie Topholm Bruun, Per Moestrup Jensen, Andreas Kristian Pedersen, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Sigurdur Skarphedinsson and Ming Chen
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:289
    Content type: Research Published on:

  23. Hard ticks act as arthropod vectors in the transmission of human and animal pathogens and are widely distributed in northern China. The aim of this study is to screen the important tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) ...

    Authors: Jun Jiao, Zhiyu Lu, Yonghui Yu, Yangxuan Ou, Mengjiao Fu, Yuee Zhao, Nier Wu, Mingliang Zhao, Yan Liu, Yi Sun, Bohai Wen, Dongsheng Zhou, Qinghong Yuan and Xiaolu Xiong
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:287
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. The emergence of tick-borne disease is increasing because of the effects of the temperature rise driven by global warming. In Turkey, 19 pathogens transmitted by ticks to humans and animals have been reported....

    Authors: Ahmet Efe Köseoğlu, Hüseyin Can, Mervenur Güvendi, Sedef Erkunt Alak, Çağrı Kandemir, Turğay Taşkın, Samiye Demir, Gülşah Akgül, Aysu Değirmenci Döşkaya, Muhammet Karakavuk, Mert Döşkaya, Adnan Yüksel Gürüz and Cemal Ün
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:270
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. The significance of tick-borne diseases has increased considerably in recent years. Because of the unique distribution of the tick species Dermacentor reticulatus in Poland, comprising two expanding populations, ...

    Authors: Dorota Dwużnik-Szarek, Ewa J. Mierzejewska, Anna Rodo, Katarzyna Goździk, Jolanta Behnke-Borowczyk, Dorota Kiewra, Natalia Kartawik and Anna Bajer
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:267
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. Canine babesiosis and anaplasmosis, caused by Babesia canis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, respectively, are significant tick-borne diseases in Baltic countries. Both diseases can be diagnosed on the basis of cli...

    Authors: Agnija Kivrane, Agne Namina, Maija Seleznova, Sarmite Akopjana, Valentina Capligina and Renate Ranka
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:266
    Content type: Research Published on:

  27. The universal nature of the human–companion animal relationship and their shared ticks and tick-borne pathogens offers an opportunity for improving public and veterinary health surveillance. With this in mind,...

    Authors: Mark P. Nelder, Curtis B. Russell, Antonia Dibernardo, Katie M. Clow, Steven Johnson, Kirby Cronin, Samir N. Patel and L. Robbin Lindsay
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:260
    Content type: Research Published on:

  28. In Europe, the generalist tick, Ixodes ricinus, is the main vector of several tick-borne pathogens causing diseases in humans and livestock. Understanding how different species of hosts limit the tick population ...

    Authors: Atle Mysterud, Christian Hügli and Hildegunn Viljugrein
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:254
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  30. Ticks of the genus Hyalomma, which are vectors for several tick-borne diseases, are occasionally found in areas outside their endemic range including northern parts of Europe. The objective of this study was to a...

    Authors: Mathilde Uiterwijk, Adolfo Ibáñez-Justicia, Bart van de Vossenberg, Frans Jacobs, Paul Overgaauw, Rolf Nijsse, Charlotte Dabekaussen, Arjan Stroo and Hein Sprong
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:244
    Content type: Research Published on:

  31. Q fever, a zoonosis caused by Coxiella burnetii, has adverse effects on public health. Ticks are vectors of C. burnetii and they contribute to the transmission of the pathogen. A tool for rapid, sensitive, and ac...

    Authors: A.-Tai Truong, Bo-Ram Yun, Jiyeon Lim, Subin Min, Mi-Sun Yoo, Soon-Seek Yoon, Young-Min Yun, Jong-Taek Kim and Yun Sang Cho
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:239
    Content type: Research Published on:

  32. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease that is regionally distributed in Asia, with high fatality. Constructing the transmission model of SFTS could help provide c...

    Authors: Nan Zhang, Xiao-Qing Cheng, Bin Deng, Jia Rui, Luxia Qiu, Zeyu Zhao, Shengnan Lin, Xingchun Liu, Jingwen Xu, Yao Wang, Meng Yang, Yuanzhao Zhu, Jiefeng Huang, Chan Liu, Weikang Liu, Li Luo…
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:237
    Content type: Research Published on:

  33. Previously, twelve Rickettsia species were identified in ticks, fleas, sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus), bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and a tick-bitten patient in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in ...

    Authors: Gang Liu, Shanshan Zhao, Wenbo Tan, Sándor Hornok, Wumei Yuan, Ligu Mi, Suwen Wang, Zhiqiang Liu, Yanyan Zhang, Wurelihazi Hazihan, Xinli Gu and Yuanzhi Wang
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:204
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  34. Rickettsial diseases associated with the spotted fever group constitute a growing number of newly identified Rickettsia pathogens and their tick vectors in various parts of the world. At least 15 distinct tick sp...

    Authors: Misbah Tariq, Jun-Won Seo, Da Young Kim, Merlin Jayalal Lawrence Panchali, Na Ra Yun, You Mi Lee, Choon-Mee Kim and Dong-Min Kim
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:191
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  35. Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a serious threat to humans, wildlife and livestock, and cause severe economic losses in many tropical drylands. The effective control of TBDs has been constrained by limited unde...

    Authors: Richard Chepkwony, Severine van Bommel and Frank van Langevelde
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:188
    Content type: Research Published on:

  36. Migratory birds can cross geographical and environmental barriers and are thereby able to facilitate transmission of tick-borne pathogens both as carriers of infected ticks and as reservoirs of pathogenic micr...

    Authors: Peter Wilhelmsson, Olga Pawełczyk, Thomas G. T. Jaenson, Jonas Waldenström, Björn Olsen, Pia Forsberg and Per-Eric Lindgren
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:183
    Content type: Research Published on:

  37. The argasid tick Ornithodoros erraticus is the main vector of tick-borne human relapsing fever (TBRF) and African swine fever (ASF) in the Mediterranean Basin. Tick salivary proteins secreted to the host at the f...

    Authors: Ricardo Pérez-Sánchez, Ángel Carnero-Morán, Beatriz Soriano, Carlos Llorens and Ana Oleaga
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:170
    Content type: Research Published on:

  38. The incidence of Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases is increasing in Europe and North America. There is currently much interest in identifying the ecological factors that determine the density of i...

    Authors: Cindy Bregnard, Olivier Rais and Maarten Jeroen Voordouw
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:168
    Content type: Research Published on:

  39. During the last decades a northward and upward range shift has been observed among many organisms across different taxa. In the northern hemisphere, ticks have been observed to have increased their latitudinal...

    Authors: Nicolas De Pelsmaeker, Lars Korslund and Øyvind Steifetten
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:161
    Content type: Research Published on:

  40. Louping ill virus (LIV) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) are tick-borne flaviviruses that are both transmitted by the major European tick, Ixodes ricinus. Despite the importance of I. ricinus as an arthro...

    Authors: Manon Lemasson, Grégory Caignard, Yves Unterfinger, Houssam Attoui, Lesley Bell-Sakyi, Edouard Hirchaud, Sara Moutailler, Nicholas Johnson, Damien Vitour, Jennifer Richardson and Sandrine A. Lacour
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:144
    Content type: Research Published on:

  41. Tick-borne diseases are common throughout Europe. Ticks transmit pathogens to the host while feeding and together with mosquitoes, they are major vectors of infectious agents worldwide. In recent years, there ...

    Authors: Tania Audino, Alessandra Pautasso, Veronica Bellavia, Valerio Carta, Alessio Ferrari, Federica Verna, Carla Grattarola, Barbara Iulini, Maria Domenica Pintore, Mauro Bardelli, Germano Cassina, Laura Tomassone, Simone Peletto, Valeria Blanda, Alessandra Torina, Maria Caramelli…
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:136
    Content type: Research Published on:

  42. Ticks are ectoparasites that feed on blood of a broad taxonomical range of terrestrial and flying vertebrates and are distributed across a wide range of environmental settings. To date, the species identity, d...

    Authors: Qi Zhou, Jiao Li, Xianguang Guo, Jinlong Liu, Qi Song, Xiong Gong, Han Chen, Jianhui Zhang, Jinlei He, Zhiwan Zheng, Dali Chen and Jianping Chen
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:135
    Content type: Short report Published on:

  44. The incidence of Lyme borreliosis varies over time and space through as yet incompletely understood mechanisms. In Europe, Lyme borreliosis is caused by infection with a Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) genospecies, w...

    Authors: Nienke Hartemink, Arnold J. H. van Vliet, Gerrit Gort, Fedor Gassner, Frans Jacobs, Manoj Fonville, Willem Takken and Hein Sprong
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:121
    Content type: Research Published on:

  45. Spotted fever group rickettsiae represent one of the most diverse groups of vector-borne bacteria, with several human pathogenic species showing an emerging trend worldwide. Most species are vectored by ticks ...

    Authors: Ioana A. Matei, Alexandra Corduneanu, Attila D. Sándor, Angela Monica Ionică, Luciana Panait, Zsuzsa Kalmár, Talida Ivan, Ionel Papuc, Cosmina Bouari, Nicodim Fit and Andrei Daniel Mihalca
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:107
    Content type: Research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:187

  46. Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (southern cattle fever tick; SCFT), collectively known as cattle-fever ticks (CFTs), are vectors of protozoal parasites (Babesia bigemin...

    Authors: M. Sofia Agudelo, William E. Grant and Hsiao‑Hsuan Wang
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:102
    Content type: Research Published on:

  47. Numerous laboratory and fewer field-based studies have found that ixodid ticks develop more quickly and survive better at temperatures between 18 °C and 26 °C and relative humidity (RH) between 75 and 94%. Ixodes...

    Authors: Natasha Bansal, William E. Pomroy, Allen C. G. Heath and Isabel Castro
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:85
    Content type: Research Published on:

  48. Rickettsia spp. are human pathogens that cause a number of diseases and are transmitted by arthropods, such as ixodid ticks. Estonia is one of few regions where the distribution area of two medically important ti...

    Authors: Maria Vikentjeva, Julia Geller, Jaanus Remm and Irina Golovljova
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:65
    Content type: Research Published on:

  49. Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites of vertebrate hosts and transmit the widest range of pathogenic organisms of any arthropod vector. Seven tick species are known to feed on bare-nosed wombats (Vomba...

    Authors: Danielle Beard, Hayley J. Stannard and Julie M. Old
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2021 14:60
    Content type: Research Published on:

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