Ixodes persulcatus
Ixodes persulcatus, the taiga tick, is a species of hard-bodied tick distributed from Europe through central and northern Asia to the People's Republic of China and Japan.[1] The sexual dimorphism of the species is marked, the male being much smaller than the female.[2] Hosts include wild and domestic ungulates, man, dog, rabbit, and other small mammals, including the dormouse, Amur hedgehog, and occasionally birds.[3] Disease transmissionIxodes persulcatus ticks transmit Lyme disease, relapsing fever (Borrelia miyamotoi), babesiosis, and Siberian (TBEV-Sib) and Far Eastern (TBEV-FE) tick-borne encephalitis,[1][4] and probably human granulocytic anaplasmosis as well.[5] A recent study of the northernmost tick-borne encephalitis focus in Simo, Finnish Lapland, found I. persulcatus ticks in scattered foci along the western coast, including the Kokkola archipelago and Närpes municipality, demonstrating a northward movement of foci and an unusual combination of the TBEV-Eur strain and I. persulcatus ticks in an area with no evidence of cocirculation of tick species or TBEV subtypes.[1] References
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