• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.233-241
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• 2020

Several hard tick species in Ixodidae are medically important pests that transmit infectious disease including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). In Korea, the number of SFTS patients continues to steadily increase since its first report in 2013, and Gyeongsangbuk-do (province) is the second most frequent area of SFTS patient occurrence. In order to investigate the distribution of ticks in Sangju city, we collected ticks using the flagging method from 26 sites comprising urban green area, vulnerable area of management, and rural area, and examined SFTS virus from the collected ticks in 2019. Based on Collection Index (CI = tick number / 1 h / 2 people), CI 143 ticks, including Haemaphysalis longicornis, Haemaphysalis flava, and Ixodes nipponensis, were collected; the most abundant species among the three tick species was H. longicornis (CI 138, 96.5%). Ninety two percent (CI 131) of ticks were collected in vulnerable area of management, where people cannot easily enter and are not managed by city hall, whereas only 8.4% (CI 12) were collected in the urban green area and rural area. Regarding SFTS virus detection, virus was not investigated from 26 pools containing CI 143 ticks. The results of this study are expected to be used as a recommendation for ensuring the safety of local residents from tick-borne diseases.