title: The effect of incubation and prefeeding of infected Rhipicephalus simus nymphae and adults on the transmission of Anaplasma marginale.
abstract: Two batches of unfed Rhipicephalus simus nymphae carrying Anaplasma marginale were incubated for 72 h and 96 h respectively at 37 degrees C. Fifty ticks were triturated at a time and the homogenates were used to infect susceptible cattle. Others were prefed on a bovine host for 72 h before tick suspensions were prepared. The same procedure was followed, using a single batch of infected adult ticks. Incubation had no effect on the infectivity of the nymphal homogenates, but prefeeding of nymphae reduced the prepatent period by 8 days in 1 of the 2 attempts. In the case of the adult ticks both incubation and prefeeding reduced prepatent periods by 5 and 8 days respectively.
mesh_terms: D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000635:transmission*; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors; D002417:Cattle; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D013987:Ticks