title: Recent discovery of widespread Ixodes affinis (Acari: Ixodidae) distribution in North Carolina with implications for Lyme disease studies.
abstract: Ixodes affinis, which is similar morphologically to Ixodes scapularis, is widely distributed in North Carolina. Collections have documented this species in 32 of 41 coastal plain counties, but no piedmont or mountain counties. This coastal plain distribution is similar to its distribution in Georgia and South Carolina, where it is considered an enzootic vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. An updated list of hosts for I. affinis in the U.S.A. is included, increasing the number to 15 mammal and one bird species. The presence of questing adults of I. affinis from April to November reinforces the need for confirmed identifications of suspected tick vectors of Borrelia spirochetes collected during warm months.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Pest Management, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 1631 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1631, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Walker H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Rayburn
authors.forename: Marcee
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toliver
authors.forename: Eugene E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Barry R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Engber
authors.forename: Lance A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Durden
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: Brian F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Prendergast
authors.forename: Parker B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Whitt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D009657:North Carolina