• 대한수의학회지
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.169-174
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• 2017

This study was performed to investigate the distribution of ticks and the rate of infection with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus in ticks collected at Mt. Gwanak and the Seoul National University campus, Korea. Ticks (n = 273) were collected from May to October and included 76 Haemaphysalis longicornis (4 adult females, 72 nymphs), 49 Haemaphysalis flava (9 adult females, 3 adult males, 37 nymphs), and 148 Haemaphysalis spp. larvae. SFTS virus detection was performed by using one-step RT PCR and nested PCR. The SFTS virus was detected in 7 samples (1 Haemaphysalis longicornis nymph, 3 Haemaphysalis flava nymphs, and 3 Haemaphysalis spp. larva). The overall minimum field infection rate was 2.6%, whereas the minimum field infection rates of adult, nymphal, and larval ticks were 0%, 3.2%, and 2.0%, respectively. For a more accurate indication of the prevalence of SFTS virus in Korea, further in-depth investigations of tick species and SFTS virus occurrence over a larger area and longer period are needed.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

참진드기 3종류의 발육단계별 즉 유충, 자충, 성충에 대한 계절적 발생 유형을 2014년 4월에서 10월까지 조사하였다. 천끌기와 천젓기 방법으로 포천 영중면 금주리에서 작은소피참진드기 610개체, 개피참진드기 296개체 그리고 일본참진드기 15개체가 채집되었으며 같은 방법으로 철원 서면 자등리에서는 작은소피참진드기 254개체, 개피참진드기 345개체, 일본참진드기 15개체가 채집되었다. 작은소피참진드기의 성충은 6월에 가장 높은 채집 비율을 보였으며 자충은 4월에서 6월사이에 주로 채집되었다. 반대로 작은소피참진드기의 유충은 9월과 10월에만 채집되었다. 개피참진드기의 성충은 4월, 9월, 10월에 채집된 반면 자충은 4월부터 10월까지 채집되었다. 개피참진드기의 자충은 포천에서는 4월에 그리고 철원에서는 5월에 가장 많이 채집되었다. 개피참진드기의 유충은 작은소피참진드기의 유충과 같이 9월과 10월에만 채집되었다. 일본 참진드기의 성충과 자충은 주로 4월에 채집되었으나 유충은 채집되지 않았다. 천끌기과 천젓기 방법으로 채집된 특정한 진드기종의 발육단계별 밀도를 조사한 결과는 진드기의 계절별 밀도 평가와 진드기 매개 질병 위험 분석에 활용할 수 있다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제58권3호
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• pp.327-331
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• 2020

Toxoplasma gondii are intracellular protozoa that can cause neurological disease or death in fetuses and even in immunocompromised human adults. Ticks are recognized as vectors of many microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. Recent studies detected T. gondii in various tick species in many countries. In this study, we performed PCR detection of the T. gondii B1 gene from Haemaphysalis ticks collected from vegetation in 4 localities, Wonju, Gunsan, Miryang, and Yangsan, in Korea. We analyzed DNA from 314 ticks (268 Haemaphysalis longicornis and 46 Haemaphysalis flava) and the B1 gene of T. gondii was detected in 13 of these. The detection of T. gondii in ticks differed significantly by region (P=0.021). T. gondii was detected in the following percentages of collected ticks: 3.7% (7 of 189) in Gunsan, 10% (5 of 50) in Wonju, 16.7% (1 of 6) in Yangsan, and 0% (0 of 69) in Miryang. The detection of T. gondii in ticks was not associated with tick species or development stage. This is the first report of T. gondii detection in ticks in Korea. Our results provide important information necessary to understand toxoplasmosis transmission.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.319-324
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• 2019

This study aimed to investigate the tick species and give background for tick-borne investigations in Korea. Ticks were collected from the area within 2 km radius of the 4 domestic animal farms, where they were located in mountainous areas and raising animals on pasture, and from animal bodies in 2014 and 2015. In total, 7,973 nymphal and adult ticks were collected from the farms - 7,758 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 198 Haemaphysalis flava, and 17 Ixodes nipponensis, and 1,763 were collected from animals - 729 H. longicornis from cattle; 569 H. longicornis from goats; and 297 H. longicornis, 118 H. flava, 1 I. nipponensis, and 49 Amblyomma testudinarium from wild boars. As more species of ticks were collected from wild boars than domesticated animals and their habitats, various animal hosts should be considered while investigating tick species.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제52권2호
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• pp.143-149
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• 2020

2019년 4월부터 10월까지 북한산 둘레길 12구간(지축동), 14구간(울대리), 18구간(호원동)에서 참진드기를 채집해서 계절적 분포 조사와 매개체의 SFTS 바이러스 감염 여부를 확인하였다. 천젓기와 천끌기 방법으로 개피참진드기, 일본참진드기와 중증열성혈소판감소증후군의 주된 매개체로 알려진 작은소피참진드기 3종이 채집되었다. 작은소피참진드기는 채집비율이 지축동 91%, 울대리 94%, 호원동 98%를 차지하여 우점종이었다. 작은소피참진드기의 성숙단계에 따른 계절별 채집비율을 보면 성충의 경우 세 지역 모두 9월에 최고치를 보였고 약충의 경우에는 4월에서 6월 사이에 주로 채집되었다. 유충의 경우에는 9월과 10월에 최고치를 보였다. 채집된 작은소피참진드기 1,158개체를 성숙단계별로 2× OneStep RT-PCR과 nested PCR로 SFTS 바이러스 검사를 한 결과 양성은 나타나지 않았다. 2010년 개장 이후 이용객이 늘어나는 북한산 둘레길에서 기후 온난화로 증가가 예상되는 참진드기 매개 질환에 대한 위험분석과 효율적인 예방에 본 조사 결과가 활용될 수 있다.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제57권6호
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• pp.691-698
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• 2019

The seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus was monitored with a collection trap method every April to November during 2015-2018 and with a flagging method every July and August during 2015-2018 in Ganghwa-do (island) of Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. This monitoring was performed in a copse, a short grass field, coniferous forest and broad-leaved forest. A total of 17,457 ticks (8,277 larvae, 4,137 nymphs, 3,389 females, and 1,654 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) were collected with collection traps. Of the identified ticks, H. longicornis was the most frequently collected ticks (except larval ticks) (94.26%, 8,653/9,180 ticks (nymphs and adults)), followed by H. flava (5.71%, 524/9,180) and Ix. nipponensis (less than 0.04%, 3/9,180). The ticks collected with collecting traps were pooled and assayed for the presence of SFTS virus with negative results. In addition, for monitoring the prevalence of hard ticks, a total of 7,461 ticks (5,529 larvae, 1,272 nymphs, 469 females, and 191 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 species (H. longicornis, H. flava, and Ix. nipponensis) were collected with flagging method. H. longicornis was the highest collected ticks (except larval ticks) (99.53%, 1,908/1,917 ticks (nymphs and adults)), followed by H. flava (1.15%, 22/1,917).

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제59권3호
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• pp.281-289
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• 2021

This study aimed to characterize the seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from April to November 2019 and 2020 on Ganghwa-do, Incheon Metropolitan City, Korea. The ticks were collected at grassland, grave site, copse and mountain road using a collection trap method. The ixodid hard ticks comprising three species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) collected were 6,622 in 2019 and 3,811 in 2020. H. longicornis was the most frequent (97.9% in 2019 and 96.0% in 2020), followed by H. flava (2.0% and 3.0% in 2019 and 2020, respectively) and I. nipponensis (less than 0.1%). Our study demonstrated that seasonal patterns of the tick populations examined for two years were totally unsimilar. The hard ticks tested using RT-qPCR were all negative for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제60권1호
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• pp.65-71
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• 2022

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a zoonotic, tick-borne RNA virus of the genus Bandavirus (Family Phenuiviridae), mainly reported in China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (Korea). For the purpose of this study, a total of 3,898 adult and nymphal ticks of species Haemaphysalis longicornis (94.2%), Haemaphysalis flava (5.0%), Ixodes nipponensis (0.8%), and 1 specimen of Ixodes ovatus, were collected from the Deogyusan National Park, Korea, between April 2016 and June 2018. A single-step reverse transcriptase-nested PCR was performed, targeting the S segment of the SFTSV RNA. Total infection rate (IR) of SFTSV in individual ticks was found to be 6.0%. Based on developmental stages, IR was 5.3% in adults and 6.0% in nymphs. The S segment sequences obtained from PCR were divided into 17 haplotypes. All haplotypes were phylogenetically clustered into clades B-2 and B-3, with 92.7% sequences in B-2 and 7.3% in B-3. These observations indicate that the Korean SFTSV strains were closer to the Japanese than the Chinese strains. Further epidemiological studies are necessary to better understand the characteristics of the Korean SFTSV and its transmission cycle in the ecosystem.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제60권1호
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• pp.57-63
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• 2022

When free-ranging birds are accidentally killed or die, there may be greater potential for their associated ticks to detach, seek alternate hosts, and become established. We examined 711 carcasses of 95 avian species for ticks at a stopover island of migratory birds in the Republic of Korea where only Ixodes nipponensis and I. persulcatus were previously reported from local mammals and vegetation. A total of 16 ticks, I. turdus and Haemaphysalis flava, were collected from 8 fresh carcasses belonging to 5 avian species. Despite their known abundance on migratory birds and mainland Korea, these species had not colonized the isolated insular ecosystem possibly due to the low abundance and diversity of local hosts. The results imply that increasing human impact, such as the anthropogenic mortality of migratory birds and the introduction of non-native mammalian hosts, will increase the potential invasion and colonization risk of ticks. This finding also suggests that tick surveillance consisting of fresh carcasses of dead migratory birds may provide additional information, often ignored in surveillance of ticks on live birds, for the potential introduction of non-native ticks and associated pathogens affecting animal and human health.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.87-91
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• 2016

Deer serve as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens that impact on medical and veterinary health worldwide. In the Republic of Korea, the population of Korean water deer (KWD, Hydropotes inermis argyropus) has greatly increased from 1982 to 2011, in part, as a result of reforestation programs established following the Korean War when much of the land was barren of trees. Eighty seven Haemaphysalis flava, 228 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 8 Ixodes nipponensis, and 40 Ixodes persulcatus (21 larvae, 114 nymphs, and 228 adults) were collected from 27 out of 70 KWD. A total of 89/363 ticks (266 pools, 24.5% minimum infection rate) and 5 (1.4%) fed ticks were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum using nested PCR targeting the 16S rRNA and groEL genes, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 88/89 (98.9%) of positive samples for A. phagocytophilum corresponded to previously described gene sequences from KWD spleen tissues. The 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences of 20/363 (5.5%) of the ticks were positive for A. bovis and were identical to previously reported sequences. Using the ITS specific nested PCR, 11/363 (3.0%) of the ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. This is the first report of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. detected in ticks collected from KWD, suggesting that ticks are vectors of Anaplasma and Bartonella spp. between reservoir hosts in natural surroundings.