title: Host associations and seasonal abundance of immature Ixodes persulcatus (Acari: Ixodidae) in a Lyme-disease-endemic area in China.
abstract: Ticks of nine small mammal species were studied in an area of endemic Lyme disease in Hailin County, Heilongjiang Province, from 1 May to 10 October 1986. The bulk (93%) total small mammal captures were Apodemus speciosus (45%), Clethrionomys rufocanus (31%), A. agrarius (11%) and Eutamias sibiricus; (5%): these host species accounted for 97% of the 162 ticks collected. Ixodes persulcatus Schulze were most abundant on E. sibiricus (0.64 larvae and 0.08 nymphs/squirrel), and less abundant on A. agrarius (1.16 larvae/mouse), A. speciosus (0.38 larvae/mouse) and C. rufocanus (0.37 larvae and nymphs/vole). The seasonal abundance pattern of larval I. persulcatus on four small mammal species appears as a bimodal peak (June and September), but nymphal I. persulcatus has a monomodal peak during spring. The prevalence of immature I. persulcatus on four small mammal species may play an important role in the epidemiology of Lyme disease in Hailin County.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: C X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Z X
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: X M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: X D
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000635:transmission*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D012377:Rodentia; D012621:Seasons; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*