We report herein an unusual case of tick bite. A 56 year old woman complained of erythematous nodular skin lesion on the left upper chest. An excision biopsy specimen of the lesion showed darkish-red nodule, in which there was a tick. It was identified as an adult female of Ixodes nipponensis by the scanning electron microscopic examination.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Female ; Humans ; Ixodes* ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax* ; Tick Bites ; Tick Infestations* ; Ticks*

A scalp mass surgically excised from a 4-year-old Korean boy was identified as a tick through histological observations. In sections of the mass, characteristic features of a tick, including its gross contour, cuticular structures, well developed musculature and salivary glands, and the capitulum, were discovered. In particular, the capitulum is anteriorly protruded, which strongly suggests that the specimen be a hard tick of family Ixodidae. However, the present histological features were not enough to determine the genus and species of the tick, because information on sectional morphologies of different tick species is unavailable. This is a rare case of tick infestation on the scalp diagnosed in histological sections.
Tick Infestations/*diagnosis/pathology ; Scalp/*parasitology/*pathology ; Male ; Humans ; Child, Preschool

Adult ; Animals ; Ear Auricle ; parasitology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Tick Infestations ; Ticks

A survey was carried out to investigate the prevalence of hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) on cattle in Mazandaran province, Iran. A total of 953 ticks were collected from 86 infested cattle during activating seasons of ticks during 2004-2005. Nine species were identified: Boophilus annulatus (51.3%), Rhipicephalus bursa (16.8%), Haemaphysalis punctata (6.3%), Ixodes ricinus (6.8%), Hyalomma marginatum (12.5%), Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum (5.2%), Hyalomma asiaticum (0.6%), Hyalomma detritum (0.2 %), and Dermacentor spp. (0.1%). The results show that Boophilus annulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa, and Hyalomma species are dominant tick species in the surveyed area.
Animals ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/*epidemiology ; Iran/epidemiology ; Ixodidae/*classification ; Prevalence ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/*veterinary

A tick survey was conducted to determine the relative abundance and distribution of ticks associated with selected mammals in the Republic of Korea (ROK) during 2008-2009. A total of 918 ticks were collected from 76 mammals (6 families, 9 species) captured at 6 provinces and 3 Metropolitan Cities in ROK. Haemaphysalis longicornis (54.4%) was the most frequently collected tick, followed by Haemaphysalis flava (28.5%), Ixodes nipponensis (7.6%), Ixodes pomerantzevi (4.8%), Ixodes persulcatus (4.6%), and Haemaphysalis japonica (0.1%). Adults (57.0%) and nymphs (28.7%) of Ixodes and Haemaphysalis spp. were collected most frequently from medium or large mammals in this survey, while few larvae (14.3%) were collected. Hydropotes inermis was the most frequently captured mammal (52.6%), with a 16.4 tick index and 5 of 6 species of ticks collected during this survey. H. longicornis (69.7%) was the predominant tick collected from H. inermis, followed by H. flava (22.2%), I. persulcatus (6.1%), I. nipponensis (1.8%), and H. japonica (0.2%).
Animals ; Mammals/*parasitology ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/parasitology/*veterinary ; Ticks/*classification

Ticks and tick-borne diseases are important in human and livestock health worldwide. In November 2012, ixodid ticks were collected and identified morphologically from cattle and wild animals in the Maswa district and Iringa urban, Tanzania. Amblyomma gemma, A. lepidum, and A. variegatum were identified from Maswa cattle, and A. variegatum was the predominant species. A. marmoreum, Hyalomma impeltatum, and Rhipicephalus pulchellus were identified from Iringa cattle in addition to the above 3 Amblyomma species, and A. gemma was the most abundant species. Total 4 Amblyomma and 6 Rhipicephalus species were identified from wild animals of the 2 areas. A. lepidum was predominant in Maswa buffaloes, whereas A. gemma was predominant in Iringa buffaloes. Overall, A. variegatum in cattle was predominant in the Maswa district and A. gemma was predominant in Iringa, Tanzania.
Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/epidemiology/*parasitology ; *Ixodidae ; Tanzania/epidemiology ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/*veterinary

Ticks are obligate parasites on animals and sometimes humans. They usually suck the blood of the hosts and can carry various infectious diseases as a vector. Otoacariasis is the presence of ticks and mites within the ear canal and relatively common in domestic and wild animals. However, tick infestations of human ear canals are rarely reported in the scientific literature and hardly occur in developed countries. Herein, we report a rare case of otoaracariasis involving Haemaphysalis longicornis . A 9-year-old girl living in a suburb presented with otalgia of left ear for 1 day. Otoscopic examination revealed a huge insect occluding the tympanic membrane. Tick removal and washing of external auditory canal was done successfully. The causative tick was identified as the H. longicornis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of human otoacariasis by a H. longicornis in Korea.
Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Child ; Communicable Diseases ; Developed Countries ; Ear ; Ear Canal ; Earache ; Female ; Humans* ; Insects ; Ixodidae ; Korea ; Mites ; Parasites ; Tick Bites ; Tick Infestations ; Ticks ; Tympanic Membrane

We report two human cases of tick bite. A 63-year-old male had a pruritic pea-sized brownish nodule on the left popliteal area. Another 41-year-old male had an asymptomatic bean-sized black nodule in the pubic area. The ticks were identified as Ixodes nipponensis, which are the 18th and the 19th cases in Korea.
Adult ; Animals ; Bites and Stings/*parasitology/pathology ; Human ; *Ixodes/anatomy & histology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin/*parasitology/pathology ; Tick Infestations/*parasitology/pathology

Ticks were collected from 35 animals from 5 provinces and 3 metropolitan cities during 2012. Ticks also were collected by tick drag from 4 sites in Gyeonggi-do (2) and Jeollabuk-do (2) Provinces. A total of 612 ticks belonging to 6 species and 3 genera were collected from mammals and a bird (n=573) and by tick drag (n=39). Haemaphyalis longicornis (n=434) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by H. flava (158), Ixodes nipponensis (11), Amblyomma testudinarium (7), H. japonica (1), and H. formosensis (1). H. longicornis and H. flava were collected from all animal hosts examined. For animal hosts (n>1), the highest Tick Index (TI) was observed for domestic dogs (29.6), followed by Siberian roe deer (17.4), water deer (14.4), and raccoon dogs (1.3). A total of 402 H. longicornis (adults 86, 21.4%; nymphs 160, 39.8%; larvae 156, 38.9%) were collected from wild and domestic animals. A total of 158 H. flava (n=158) were collected from wild and domestic animals and 1 ring-necked pheasant, with a higher proportion of adults (103, 65.2%), while nymphs and larvae only accounted for 12.7% (20) and 22.2% (35), respectively. Only 7 A. testudinarium were collected from the wild boar (6 adults) and Eurasian badger (1 nymph), while only 5 I. nipponensis were collected from the water deer (4 adults) and a raccoon dog (1 adult). One adult female H. formosensis was first collected from vegetation by tick drag from Mara Island, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do Province.
Animals ; Animals, Domestic ; Animals, Wild ; Female ; Male ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/parasitology/*veterinary ; Ticks/*classification

Gynandromorphic ticks are extremely rare, and often attract parasitologists' attention. During our examination of tick specimens, an engorged gynandromorph of Hyalomma asiaticum was noticed. This is the first record of gynandromorphic ticks from China. In this study, several important morphological structures of normal and gynandromorphic H. asiaticum were analyzed. Comparing to the normal H. asiaticum, the gynandromorphic specimen was a typical bipartite protogynander. Its right side showed normal female characteristics, whereas the left side had normal male traits. Different from other gynandromorphic ticks containing 1 anus, this tick reported here had 2 complete anuses, and the anus of the male part had a single adanal plate.
Animals ; Chimera/*anatomy & histology/genetics ; China ; Female ; Ixodidae/*anatomy & histology/genetics ; Male ; Sheep ; Sheep Diseases/*parasitology ; Tick Infestations/parasitology/*veterinary