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An exotic souvenir on a German traveler returning from South Africa

  • Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Short Communication
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Abstract

The study reports the finding of a nymph attached to a German tourist during a holiday in South Africa. The nymph specimen was morphologically identified and confirmed by sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA genes. The nymph was identified as Rhipicephalus maculatus, a rare tick reported in humans. Screening using the pan-Rickettsia-PCR for infection gave a negative result.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the patient and Dr. Markus Frühwein and his team for their collaboration and giving us the tick for studying.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstrasse 11, 80937, Munich, Germany

    Lidia Chitimia-Dobler

  2. Epidemiology, Parasites and Vectors, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Onderstepoort, South Africa

    Ben J. Mans

  3. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Ben J. Mans

  4. Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Ben J. Mans

Authors
  1. Lidia Chitimia-Dobler
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  2. Ben J. Mans
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Correspondence to Ben J. Mans.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Chitimia-Dobler, L., Mans, B.J. An exotic souvenir on a German traveler returning from South Africa. Parasitol Res 121, 1527–1531 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07480-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07480-0

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