title: Tick-borne pathogens and the vector potential of ticks in China.
abstract: Ticks, as obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites, attack a broad range of vertebrates and transmit a great diversity of pathogenic microorganisms. They are considered second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human disease, and the most important vector of pathogens of domestic and wild animals. Of the 117 described species in the Chinese tick fauna, 60 are known to transmit one or more diseases: 36 species isolated within China and 24 species isolated outside China. Moreover, 38 of these species carry multiple pathogens, indicating the potentially vast role of these vectors in transmitting pathogens. Spotted fever is the most common tick-borne disease, and is carried by at least 27 tick species, with Lyme disease and human granulocytic anaplasmosis ranked as the second and third most widespread tick-borne diseases, carried by 13 and 10 species, respectively. Such knowledge provides us with clues for the identification of tick-associated pathogens and suggests ideas for the control of tick-borne diseases in China. However, the numbers of tick-associated pathogens and tick-borne diseases in China are probably underestimated because of the complex distribution and great diversity of tick species in this country.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. yzj116@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhijun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. whui1981@163.com.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. tianhong@163.com.
authors.forename: Tianhong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. sunweny96@126.com.
authors.forename: Wenying
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. yangxl@mail.hebtu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. jzliu21@heinfo.net.
authors.forename: Jingze
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*