First U.S. record of the hard tick Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) gregsoni Lindquist, Wu, and Redner.
Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) gregsoni Lindquist, Wu, and Redner, a species of hard tick described in 1999 in Canada, was recovered from a harvested fisher (Martes pennanti Erxleben) and a domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus Ragni and Randi) in Vermont in 2001 and from harvested mink (Mustela vison Schreber) in Maine in 2003. These samples are the first records of this species within the United States. Although knowledge of this tick's natural history and distribution are still preliminary, these records indicate a possible greater distribution for I. gregsoni than initially perceived. Although its status as a disease vector is presently unknown, natural resource professionals should be aware of the possibility of this tick's occurrence in the northeastern United States.
Lubelczyk
Charles B
CB
Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Vector-borne Disease Laboratory, 75 John Roberts Road Suite 9B, South Portland, Maine 04106, USA. lubelc@mmc.org
Hanson
Trish
T
Lacombe
Eleanor H
EH
Holman
Mary S
MS
Keirans
James E
JE
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D018884:Ixodes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D008281:Maine / Q000453:epidemiology; D008907:Mink / Q000469:parasitology; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014707:Vermont / Q000453:epidemiology