Abstract
In order to identify ticks infesting humans in Corum and Yozgat provinces in Turkey, a total of 2110 ticks representing 14 species were collected on humans, between June and September 2009. Of those, 1551 (687♂, 450♀, 407 nymphs, 7 larvae) were collected from Corum and 559 (330♂, 180♀, 49 nymphs) were collected from Yozgat. The majority of ticks (n = 1121, 53.1 %) was Hyalomma marginatum. Other common ticks infesting humans were Dermacentor marginatus (n = 209, 9.9 %) and Rhipicephalus turanicus sensu lato (n = 145, 6.9 %) in the study area. In addition, a total of 386 immature Hyalomma were found on humans in Corum (335 nymphs, 7 larvae) and Yozgat (44 nymphs). Ixodes laguri and Haemaphysalis erinacei taurica were recorded for the first time in Corum. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first detailed investigation on ticks infesting humans in Corum and Yozgat, except individual or incidental records. The present study provides useful information for those concerned with ticks and tick-borne diseases in Turkey.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albayrak H, Ozan E, Kurt M (2010) An antigenic investigation of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in hard ticks from provinces in northern Turkey. Trop Anim Health Prod 42:1323–1325
Apanaskevich MA, Apanaskevich DA (2015a) Description of new Dermacentor (Acari: Ixodidae) species from Malaysia and Vietnam. J Med Entomol 52:156–162
Apanaskevich MA, Apanaskevich DA (2015b) Reinstatement of Dermacentor bellulus (Acari: Ixodidae) as a valid species previously confused with D. taiwanensis and comparison of all parasitic stages. J. Med. Entomol. doi:10.1093/jme/tjv034
Apanaskevich DA, Bermúdez SE (2013) Description of a new Dermacentor (Acari: Ixodidae) species, a parasite of wild mammals in Central America. J Med Entomol 50:1190–1201
Apanaskevich DA, Horak IG (2008) The genus Hyalomma Koch, 1844: V. re-evaluation of the taxonomic rank of taxa comprising the H. (Euhyalomma) marginatum Koch complex of species (Acari: Ixodidae) with redescription of all parasitic stages and notes on biology. Int J Acarol 34:13–42
Arthur DR (1957) Studies on exotic Ixodes ticks (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae) from United States navy and army activities. J Parasitol 43:681–994
Bakirci S, Aysul N, Eren H, Unlu AH, Karagenc T (2014) Diversity of ticks biting humans in Aydın province of Turkey. Ank Univ Vet Fak Derg 61:93–98
Balashov YS (1997) Distribution of ixodid ticks (Acarina, Ixodidae) over landscapes within their ranges in Russia. Entomol Rev 77:625–637
Bursali A, Tekin S, Keskin A, Ekici M, Dundar E (2011) Species diversity of ixodid ticks feeding on humans in Amasya, Turkey: seasonal abundance and presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. J Med Entomol 48:85–93
Bursali A, Keskin A, Tekin S (2012) A review of the ticks (Acari: Ixodida) of Turkey: species diversity, hosts and geographical distribution. Exp Appl Acarol 57:91–104
Bursali A, Keskin A, Tekin S (2013) Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) infesting humans in the provinces of Kelkit Valley, a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever endemic region in Turkey. Exp Appl Acarol 59:507–515
Bursali A, Keskin A, Şimşek E, Keskin A, Tekin S (2015) A survey of ticks (Acari: Ixodida) infesting some wild animals from Sivas, Turkey. Exp Appl Acarol 66:293–299
Carpi G, Cagnacci F, Wittekindt NE, Zhao F, Qi J, Tomsho LP, Drautz DI, Rizzoli A, Schuster SC (2011) Metagenomic profile of the bacterial communities associated with Ixodes ricinus ticks. PLoS One 6:e25604
Dantas-Torres F, Latrofa MS, Annoscia G, Giannelli A, Parisi A, Otranto D (2013) Morphological and genetic diversity of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato from the New and Old Worlds. Parasit Vectors 6:213
Estrada-Peña A, Jongejan F (1999) Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol 23:685–715
Estrada-Peña A, Bouattour A, Camicas JL, Walker AR (2004) Ticks of veterinary and medical importance: the mediterranean basin. A guide of identification of species. University of Zaragoza Press, Zaragoza
Estrada-Peña A, Gray JS, Kahl O, Lane RS, Nijhof AM (2013) Research on the ecology of ticks and tick-borne pathogens-methodological principles and caveats. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 3:29
Farkas R, Estrada-Peña A, Jaenson TG, Pascucci I, Madder M (2013) Basic biology and geographical distribution of tick species involved in the transmission of animal pathogens, including zoonoses. In: Salman M, Tarrés-Call J (eds) Ticks and tick-borne diseases: geographical distribution and control strategies in the Euro-Asia region. CAB International, Boston, pp 6–26
Filippova NA (1977) Ixodid ticks of the subfamily Ixodinae-Fauna SSSR. Nauka Publishing House, Moscow (in Russian)
Filippova NA (1997) Ixodid ticks of subfamily Amblyomminae. In: Fauna of Russia and neighbouring countries, vol 4, no. 5. Nauka Publishing House, St. Petersburg (in Russian)
Filippova NA, Plaksina MA (2005) Some aspects of intraspecific variability of the closely related species of the Dermacentor marginatus complex (Acari: Ixodidae) as demonstration of microevolution process. Parazitologiia 39:337–364 (In Russian)
Gargili A, Kar S, Yilmazer N, Cerit C, Sonmez G, Sahin F, Alp H, Vatansever Z (2010) Evaluation of ticks biting humans in Thrace Province, Turkey. Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg 16(Suppl–A):141–146
Gargili A, Kar S, Yilmazer N, Ergonul O, Vatansever Z (2011) Different abundances of human–biting ticks in two neighboring provinces in Turkey. Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg 17(SupplA):93–97
Gargili A, Palomar AM, Midilli K, Portillo A, Kar S, Oteo JA (2012) Rickettsia species in ticks removed from humans in Istanbul, Turkey. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 12:938–941
Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG, Apanaskevich DA, Petney TN, Estrada-Peña A, Horak IG (2014) The hard ticks of the world. Springer, Dordrecht
Guner ES, Hashimoto N, Takada N, Kaneda K, Imai Y, Masuzawa T (2003) First isolation and characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato strains from Ixodes ricinus ticks in Turkey. J Med Microbiol 52:807–813
Gunes T, Poyraz O, Vatansever Z (2011) Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic Fever virus in ticks collected from humans, livestock, and picnic sites in the hyperendemic region of Turkey. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 11:1411–1416
Hagman K, Barboutis C, Ehrenborg C, Fransson T, Jaenson TG, Lindgren PE, Lundkvist A, Nystrom F, Waldenstrom J, Salaneck E (2014) On the potential roles of ticks and migrating birds in the ecology of West Nile virus. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 4:20943
Jongejan F, Uilenberg G (2004) The global importance of ticks. Parasitology 129:S3–S14
Kandis H, Katirci Y, Baltaci D, Saritas A, Kara IH, Geyik MF (2012) Investigation of clinical and laboratory findings of 26 cases with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Biomed Res India 23:589–595
Karaer Z, Guven E, Nalbantoglu S, Kar S, Orkun O, Ekdal K, Kocak A, Akcay A (2011) Ticks on humans in Ankara, Turkey. Exp Appl Acarol 54:85–91
Keskin A, Koprulu TK, Bursali A, Ozsemir AC, Erciyas-Yavuz K, Tekin S (2014) First record of Ixodes arboricola (Ixodida: Ixodidae) From Turkey with presence of Candidatus Rickettsia vini (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae). J Med Entomol 51:864–867
Kuloglu F, Rolain JM, Akata F, Eroglu C, Celik AD, Parola P (2012) Mediterranean spotted fever in the Trakya region of Turkey. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 3:298–304
Lommano E, Bertaiola L, Dupasquier C, Gern L (2012) Infections and coinfections of questing Ixodes ricinus ticks by emerging zoonotic pathogens in Western Switzerland. Appl Environ Microbiol 78:4606–4612
Marrelli MT, Souza LF, Marques RC, Labruna MB, Matioli SR, Tonon AP, Ribolla PE, Marinotti O, Schumaker TTS (2007) Taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships between neotropical species of ticks from genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) inferred from second internal transcribed spacer sequences of rDNA. J Med Entomol 44:222–228
Merdivenci A (1969) Türkiye Keneleri Üzerine Araştırmalar. Kurtulmuş Matbaası, Istanbul
Nava S, Estrada-Peña A, Petney T, Beati L, Labruna MB, Szabó MP, Venzal JM, Mastropaolo M, Mangold AJ, Guglielmone AA (2015) The taxonomic status of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806). Vet Parasitol 208:2–8
Orkun O, Karaer Z, Cakmak A, Nalbantoglu S (2014) Identification of tick-borne pathogens in ticks feeding on humans in Turkey. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8:e3067
Otranto D, Dantas-Torres F, Giannelli A, Latrofa MS, Cascio A, Cazzin S, Ravagnan S, Montarsi F, Zanzani SA, Manfredi MT, Capelli G (2014) Ticks infesting humans in Italy and associated pathogens. Parasit Vectors 7:328
Tanir G, Tuygun N, Balaban I, Doksoz O (2009) A case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever with pleural effusion. Jpn J Infect Dis 62:70–72
Tekin S, Bursali A, Mutluay N, Keskin A, Dundar E (2012) Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in various ixodid tick species from a highly endemic area. Vet Parasitol 186:546–552
Tonbak S, Aktas M, Altay K, Azkur AK, Kalkan A, Bolat Y, Dumanli N, Ozdarendeli A (2006) Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus: genetic analysis and tick survey in Turkey. J Clin Microbiol 44:4120–4124
Vatansever Z, Uzun R, Estrada-Peña A, Ergonul O (2007) Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Turkey. In: Ergonul O, Whitehouse CA (eds) Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: a global perspective. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 59–74
Vatansever Z, Gargili A, Aysul NS, Sengoz G, Estrada-Peña A (2008) Ticks biting humans in the urban area of Istanbul. Parasitol Res 102:551–553
Walker JB, Keirans JE, Horak IG (2000) The genus Rhipicephalus (Acari, Ixodidae): a guide to the brown ticks of the world. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Yesilyurt M, Kilic S, Cagasar O, Celebi B, Gul S (2011) Two cases of tick-borne tularemia in Yozgat Province, Turkey. Mikrobiyol Bul 45:746–754
Acknowledgments
This study has been supported by a Grant (KBAG114Z136) from The Scientific & Technological Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keskin, A., Keskin, A., Bursali, A. et al. Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) parasitizing humans in Corum and Yozgat provinces, Turkey. Exp Appl Acarol 67, 607–616 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-015-9966-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-015-9966-4