• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.117-120
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• 2014

Chemotherapeutic treatment is still the foundation of tick control programs. This study investigated the acaricidal efficacy of cypermethrin alone and in combination with chlorpyrifos against Haemaphysalis (H.) longicornis. Unfed larval ticks were exposed to 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mg/mL cypermethrin for 60 min, after which the acaricidal efficacy was examined based on tick mortality. All compounds showed similar suppression curves, with the best control being achieved by cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos (1 : 1 ratio) at 10 mg/mL. Effective cypermethrin concentrations for tick control were two to seven times higher than the recommended doses, indicating resistance by H. longicornis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.589-596
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• 2018

Ticks are the vectors of various pathogens, threatening human health and animal production across the globe. Here, for the first time we detected Ricketssia spp., Borrelia spp. and protozoan in ticks from Poyang Lake region in Jiangxi Province of eastern China. In 3 habitat categories and on 12 host species, 311 ticks from 11 species were collected. Haemaphysalis longicornis was the predominant species, accounting for 55.63%, followed by Rhipicephalus microplus, Haemaphysalis flava and Ixodes granulatus. Of the collected ticks, 7.07% were positive for tick-borne pathogens, and H. longicornis and H. flava were found to be co-infected with Ricketssia spp. and protozoan. H. flava was the most detected positive for tick-borne pathogens, whereas H. longicornis had the lowest infection rate, and the difference in infection rates between tick species was significant (${\chi}^2=61.24$, P<0.001). Furthermore, adult ticks demonstrated remarkably greater infection rate than immature ticks (${\chi}^2=10.12$, P=0.018), meanwhile ticks on Erinaceidae showed significantly higher positivity than ticks collected on other host species (${\chi}^2=108.44$, P<0.001). Genetic fragment sequencing and analyses showed at least 4 pathogen species presence in ticks, namely Borrelia yangtzensis, Rickettsia slovaca or Rickettsia raoultii related genospecies, Babesia vogeli and Hepatozoon canis or Hepatozoon felis related genospecies. The finding indicates that the abundant ticks can carry diverse pathogens in Poyang Lake region, and pathogen infection is highly related to species, vertebrate hosts and life stages of ticks.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.195-200
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• 2004

We investigated the induction of resistance to Haemaphysalis longicornis infestation in rabbits that had been immunized with recombinant H. longicornis P27/30 protein. The success of immunological control methods is dependent upon the use of potential key antigens as tick vaccine candidates. Previously, we cloned a gene encoding 27 kDa and 30 kDa proteins (P27/30) of H. longicornis, and identified P27/30 as a troponin I-like protein. In this study, rabbits that were immunized with recombinant P27/30 expressed in Escherichia coli showed the statistically significant longer feeding duration for larval and adult ticks (P<0.05), low engorgement rates in larval ticks (64.4%), and an apparent reduction in egg weights, which suggest that H. longicornis P27/30 protein is a potential candidate antigen for a tick vaccine. These results demonstrated that the recombinant P27/30 protein might be a useful vaccine candidate antigen for biological control of H. longicornis.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2023

The number of households with pets has increased in recent years. Consequently, interest in mites and their odors has increased. In this study, we investigated whether pyrethrum extract and water-soluble phytoncides are effective tick repellents, deodorizing agents, and antibacterial agents. In the tick-climbing test, the pyrethrum extract (23.33 points) and water-soluble phytoncide (22.00 points) showed a high repelling effect. To confirm the tick avoidance effect of the composite extract, a tick climbing test was conducted with a pest control extract, a composite extract (referred to as a sample) containing a water-soluble phytoncide, and a third-party product (control). The sample showed a high avoidance effect (13.00 points and Control 26.67 points. An indoor repellent efficacy test for ticks confirmed that the sample showed an excellent tick-repellent effect (88%) compared to the control (12%). As a result of a deodorization test, ammonia was shown to have a deodorizing effect of 98.3% and trimethylamine of 99.5%, whereas, in the antibacterial test, the E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and pneumonia groups showed an antibacterial effect of 99.9%. Combining the results of this study, it is judged that the complex extract including the above material has high utility value as a material that is effective in mite repellents, deodorization, and antibacterial activity.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.439-448
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• 2023

Tick infestation causes a significant threat to human and animal health, requiring effective immunological control methods. This study aimed to investigate the potential of recombinant Haemaphysalis longicornis enolase protein for tick vaccine development. The exact mechanism of the recently identified enolase protein from the H. longicornis Jeju strain remains poorly understood. Enolase plays a crucial role in glycolysis, the metabolic process that converts glucose into energy, and is essential for the motility, adhesion, invasion, growth, and differentiation of ticks. In this study, mice were immunized with recombinant enolase, and polyclonal antibodies were generated. Western blot analysis confirmed the specific recognition of enolase by the antiserum. The effects of immunization on tick feeding and attachment were assessed. Adult ticks attached to the recombinant enolase-immunized mice demonstrated longer attachment time, increased bloodsucking abilities, and lower engorgement weight than the controls. The nymphs and larvae had a reduced attachment rate and low engorgement rate compared to the controls. Mice immunized with recombinant enolase expressed in Escherichia coli displayed 90% efficacy in preventing tick infestation. The glycolytic nature of enolase and its involvement in crucial physiological processes makes it an attractive target for disrupting tick survival and disease transmission. Polyclonal antibodies recognize enolase and significantly reduce attachment rates, tick feeding, and engorgement. Our findings indicate that recombinant enolase may be a valuable vaccine candidate for H. longicornis infection in experimental murine model.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.419-422
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• 2011

Severe tick infestation was found in a hare in a suburban area of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. We sampled ticks and identified them based on their morphologic characteristics. Three species, Ixodes sinensis, which is commonly found in China and can experimentally transmit Borreliia burgdorferi, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, and Haemaphysalis longicornis which can transmit Lyme disease were detected with an optical microscope and a stereomicroscope. Risk of spreading ticks from suburban to urban areas exists due to human transportation and travel between the infested and non-infested areas around Nanchang.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.37.1-37.14
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• 2021

Background: Ticks are one of the most common external parasites in dogs, and are associated with the transmission of a number of major zoonoses, which result in serious harm to human health and even death. Also, the increasing number of pet dogs and pet owners in China has caused concern regarding human tick-borne illnesses. Accordingly, studies are needed to gain a complete understanding of the bacterial composition and diversity of the ticks that parasitize dogs. Objectives: To date, there have been relatively few reports on the analysis of the bacterial community structure and diversity in ticks that parasitize dogs. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial composition and diversity of parasitic ticks of dogs, and assessed the effect of tick sex and geographical region on the bacterial composition in two tick genera collected from dogs in China. Methods: A total of 178 whole ticks were subjected to a 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) next generation sequencing analysis. The Illumina MiSeq platform targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was used to characterize the bacterial communities of the collected ticks. Sequence analysis and taxonomic assignment were performed using QIIME 2 and the GreenGene database, respectively. After clustering the sequences into taxonomic units, the sequences were quality-filtered and rarefied. Results: After pooling 24 tick samples, we identified a total of 2,081 operational taxonomic units, which were assigned to 23 phyla and 328 genera, revealing a diverse bacterial community profile. The high, moderate and low prevalent taxa include 46, 101, and 182 genera, respectively. Among them, dominant taxa include environmental bacterial genera, such as Psychrobacter and Burkholderia. Additionally, some known tick-associated endosymbionts were also detected, including Coxiella, Rickettsia, and Ricketssiella. Also, the potentially pathogenic genera Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were detected in the tick pools. Moreover, our preliminary study found that the differences in microbial communities are more dependent on the sampling location than tick sex in the tick specimens collected from dogs. Conclusions: The findings of this study support the need for future research on the microbial population present in ticks collected from dogs in China.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.91-100
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• 2022

Ticks are the arthropod vector capable of transmitting diverse pathogens, which include bacteria, viruses, protozoan and fungi. Ticks are able to survive under stressful environmental conditions. One of evolutionary outcomes of these obligatory hematophagous arthropods is the survival for extended periods of time without a blood meal during off-host periods. Water conservation biology and heat tolerance have allowed ticks to thrive even under high temperatures and low relative humidity, thus they have become highly successful arthropods as they are distributed globally. Tick osmoregulatory physiology is a complex mechanism, which involves multiple osmoregulatory organs (salivary glands, Malpighian tubules, hindgut and synganglion) for the acquisition and excretion of water and ions. Blood feeding and water vapor uptake have been early reported as the primary passages for ixodid tick to acquire water. Recently, we have learned that ticks can actively drink environmental water allowing hydration. The acquired water can be traced to the salivary glands (type I acini) and the midgut diverticula. This opens new avenues for tick management through the delivery of toxic agents into their drinking water, in addition to an alternative strategy for the study of tick physiology. Here we address the osmoregulatory physiology in the ixodid ticks as a potential target physiological mechanism for tick control. We discuss the implications of water drinking behavior for tick control through the delivery of toxic agents and discuss the dermal excretion physiology as an additional pathway to induce tick dehydration and tick death.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.693-698
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• 1996

Haemaphysalis longiscornis is the common cattle tick of great economic importance in Korea. Chemical control using dips or sprays has been the traditional method of attempting to kill these ticks during the infestation period. However, the presence of resistant forms to chemical, the rising costs of acaricides and environmental problems have made it almost impossible to use these chemicals on a regular basis according to the pest problem. For this reason, vaccination against ticks and breeding for host resistance against ticks are being studied. In order to determine the common proteins and antigens according to developmental stages, SDS-PAGE and western blotting were performed. In SDS-PAGE 103.3kD and 98.3kD proteins were observed as common proteins, and these proteins were observed as common antigens in western blotting. Unimmunized rabbits were infestated three times with H longicornis. The weight of the second and the third engorged ticks were 0.153g and 0.104g respectively. This weight is 69% and 47% of the first engorged ticks weight respectively. Immunized rabbits by adult ticks antigen and control were infested with H longicornis. The control taked 3-4 days to fully engorge, but the immunized rabbits taked about 7 days. So adult tick antigen may be effective to render the immunity to host.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.453-461
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• 1996

Eighteen holstein-calves(4~5 months old) in a divided groups including the matched control were immunized with $100{\mu}g/dose$ of 34kDa, 45kDa polypeptide and T sergenti merozoite vaccine(protein content $100{\mu}g/dose$) respectively, previously mixed with aluminium hydroxide to elicit antibodies. All groups of calves were boosted with same dose and intervals. The animals were challenged by tick infestations in the endemic pasture of theileriosis from March to September 1994. The animals were monitored for the erythrocyte count, parasitemia, hematocrit and the specific antibody reactions elicited by immunization. The immunological responses demonstrated that vaccination with 34kDa polypeptide and T sergenti merozoite derived vaccine inhibited to produce the 75kDa band immunological responds even in the vaccinated calves after being challenged by tick infestations in the pasture. However, the specific antibody reactions were detected at the 32kDa band in the nonimmunized calves and T sergenti merozoite derived vaccine by the western blot. The 34kDa polypeptide vaccine and T sergenti merozoite derived vaccine were evaluated to be able to protect inducing anemia and to decrease parasitemias level. These vaccines have the efficacy of inhibition to produce a certain antigen corresponding 75kDa band antigen of parasite in the calves as challenged with tick infestations.