Article
Parasitology
Nichar Gregory, Maria P. Fernandez, Maria Diuk-Wasser
Summary: Tick distribution in residential yards in Staten Island is strongly influenced by the amount and configuration of canopy cover, as well as the presence of fencing and log and brush piles. These findings suggest that management of yards can help reduce contact with ticks.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Catherine A. Lippi, Samuel Canfield, Christina Espada, Holly D. Gaff, Sadie J. Ryan
Summary: Geographic approaches are increasingly used to assess the risk of tick-borne diseases and inform public health decision-making. This study explored the potential geographic range of a marsh rice rat species and found considerable overlap with the distribution of a tick species in the southeastern United States, highlighting the need for extended surveillance efforts and attention to the role of hosts in transmission cycles.
Article
Entomology
J. Matthew Flenniken, Holly C. Tuten, Hannah Rose Vineer, Victoria C. Phillips, Chris M. Stone, Brian F. Allan
Summary: The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is an important vector for diseases in humans and canines in the United States. This study used ecological niche modeling to analyze the environmental factors driving the distribution of A. maculatum, and found that climate and habitat characteristics play key roles. The study also predicts potential expansion of A. maculatum's range towards the north and west.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Delonta Price, Sara A. Benham, Holly D. Gaff, Zachary J. Bement, Christian Blaise, Hannah K. Cummins, Rebecca Ferrara, Joshua Moreno, Erika Parker, Anna Phan, Tori Rose, Sarah Azher, Delonta Price, David T. Gauthier
Summary: The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is expanding northward along the US East Coast, establishing populations in Virginia with high prevalence of Rickettsia parkeri. Investigation into connectivity between sites colonized with A. maculatum suggests that higher prevalence sites may not be well-connected. This contrasts with genetic structure and connectivity observed in congeneric Amblyomma americanum populations.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Abdulsalam Adegoke, Deepak Kumar, Khemraj Budachetri, Shahid Karim
Summary: This study explores the microbial communities in different developmental stages and tissues of Gulf-Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and investigates the impact of blood meal and Rickettsia parkeri infection on microbiome composition, diversity, and functionality. The results show that Rickettsia, Francisella, and Candidatus_Midichloria are key players in the core microbiome of Am. maculatum, and blood meal and R. parkeri infection lead to an increase in bacterial abundance in tick tissues.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Zbigniew Zajac, Joanna Kulisz, Aneta Wozniak, Katarzyna Bartosik, Angelique Foucault-Simonin, Sara Moutailler, Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
Summary: This study investigated the presence of tick species in the Western Carpathians, Poland and examined the impact of environmental factors on tick occurrence and activity, the prevalence of vectored pathogens, and tick hosts as reservoir organisms. The results showed that only two species of ticks were found in the study area, with temperature significantly affecting tick activity and the number of Ixodes ricinus nymphs varying with altitude. The main hosts for ticks were rodents, and the ticks collected from vegetation were often infected with various pathogens.
Article
Parasitology
Tal Azagi, Margriet Harms, Arno Swart, Manoj Fonville, Dieuwertje Hoornstra, Lapo Mughini-Gras, Joppe W. Hovius, Hein Sprong, Cees van den Wijngaard
Summary: The study found associations between the presence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks feeding on humans and self-reported symptoms. However, due to the subjective nature of such reports and the fact that infection was determined in the ticks and not in the patient samples, further prospective studies utilizing diagnostic modalities should be performed before any clinical outcome can be causally linked to infection with tick-borne pathogens.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Julia Gonzalez, Dina M. Fonseca, Alvaro Toledo
Summary: People frequently use parks and forested areas for outdoor activities. This study monitored the seasonal dynamics of ticks in forest/meadow and forest/path ecotones in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The most abundant tick species collected was Haemaphysalis longicornis, an invasive tick species. The presence of anthropophilic ticks suggests the need for specific control approaches, and the high numbers of H. longicornis collected highlight the importance of monitoring its expansion as a potential vector of diseases.
Article
Virology
Xiaohui Li, Hongwei Ji, Di Wang, Lihe Che, Li Zhang, Liang Li, Qing Yin, Quan Liu, Feng Wei, Zedong Wang
Summary: This study identified the presence of Far Eastern subtype of TBEV in Ixodes persulcatus ticks in northeastern China, with genetic variations observed among viruses from different natural foci in the region.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Caitlin A. O'Brien, Bixing Huang, David Warrilow, Jessamine E. Hazlewood, Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Sonja Hall-Mendelin, Cassandra L. Pegg, Jessica J. Harrison, Devina Paramitha, Natalee D. Newton, Benjamin L. Schulz, Andreas Suhrbier, Jody Hobson-Peters, Roy A. Hall
Summary: A subset of Australians bitten by ticks experience chronic and debilitating symptoms that cannot be explained by known pathogenic bacteria. In an effort to understand these symptoms, researchers in Australia are identifying and characterising viruses in ticks. This study successfully characterises five tick-borne viruses and provides insights into their replication and antigenic profiles.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Parasitology
Stacy Q. Y. Chong, Darren Yeo, Nur Insyirah Aidil, Jasmine L. Y. Ong, Amy H. J. Chan, Charlene Judith Fernandez, Bryan T. M. Lim, Max D. Y. Khoo, Anna M. S. Wong, Siow Foong Chang, Him Hoo Yap
Summary: This study reports the detection of a novel Babesia species in Amblyomma javanense ticks, the main ectoparasite of Sunda pangolins. The results showed a high prevalence of Babesia DNA in both ticks and pangolins across Singapore. Further studies are needed to confirm vector competency and explore other transmission pathways. There is a potential risk for this novel Babesia species to cause disease in other animals or humans.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Hamid Kassiri, Hassan Nasirian
Summary: The study conducted a comprehensive analysis of the global tick infestation rates in humans, revealing that certain tick species pose higher risks to humans. The highest monthly average tick bites in humans were observed in June. Over the past decades, there has been a decreasing trend in tick infestation rates in humans, indicating the success of preventive measures.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Virology
Adam Kevely, Veronika Pranclova, Monika Slavikova, Jan Haviernik, Vaclav Honig, Eva Novakova, Martin Palus, Daniel Ruzek, Boris Klempa, Juraj Koci
Summary: The study utilized a recombinant reporter tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) to investigate its fitness in different tick-derived cell cultures and live ticks. The reporter virus successfully replicated in tick cell lines and live ticks, but fluorescence was not observed in live ticks. The results suggest that the reporter virus can be a useful tool for studying interactions between ticks and TBEV in a tick in vitro model, but further development of reporter-tagged viruses is needed for studying TBEV in live ticks.
Review
Microbiology
Molly McVicar, Isabella Rivera, Jeremiah B. Reyes, Monika Gulia-Nuss
Summary: Lyme disease, transmitted by the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus), is the most important vector-borne disease in the US. This tick species is well adapted to the coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington. It carries various pathogens, but our understanding of its ecology and transmission of these pathogens is still limited.
Article
Immunology
Andrew Nuss, Arvind Sharma, Monika Gulia-Nuss
Summary: Ticks are obligate blood-sucking arthropods that are important vectors of pathogens affecting humans and animals worldwide. Despite the growing burden of tick-borne diseases, research on ticks has lagged due to challenges in applying genetic tools, such as CRISPR-Cas9, for stable genetic transformations. Successful germline editing with CRISPR-Cas9 in ticks has yet to be achieved.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lindsey A. Bidder, Kristine M. Asmussen, Sean E. Campbell, Katerina A. Goffigan, Holly D. Gaff
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2019)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Alexandra N. Cumbie, Eric L. Walters, Holly D. Gaff, Wayne L. Hynes
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2020)
Article
Entomology
Holly Gaff, Rebecca J. Eisen, Lars Eisen, Robyn Nadolny, Jenna Bjork, Andrew J. Monaghan
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Blanca Rincon-Tomas, Francisco Javier Gonzalez, Luis Somoza, Kathrin Sauter, Pedro Madureira, Teresa Medialdea, Jens Carlsson, Joachim Reitner, Michael Hoppert
Article
Entomology
Christina Espada, Hannah Cummins, Jon A. Gonzales, Leo Notto, Holly D. Gaff
Summary: In this study comparing flagging and dragging in southeastern Virginia, it was found that flagging was more efficient in collecting some tick species adults than dragging.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Catherine A. Lippi, Holly D. Gaff, Alexis L. White, Heidi K. St John, Allen L. Richards, Sadie J. Ryan
Summary: This study updated the modeled distribution of American dog tick and R. montanensis using maximum entropy model, finding that adding soil layers improved model accuracy, and the predicted "infected niche" was smaller than the overall predicted niche. Different models predicted different sizes of suitable niche, and the random forest model had the best validity and fit among them.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Catherine A. Lippi, Holly D. Gaff, Alexis L. White, Sadie J. Ryan
Summary: The increasing prevalence of tick-borne diseases in humans in recent decades has highlighted the need for more information on geographic risk for public health planning. A systematic scoping review of species distribution models (SDMs) literature for rickettsial pathogens and tick vectors in the genus Amblyomma found that most studies estimated only tick distributions using vector presence as a proxy for pathogen exposure. The reliance on existing data sources and the lack of original data collection may indicate a lag in new data acquisition and a full understanding of the tick-pathogen ecology.
Article
Entomology
Robyn M. Nadolny, Marcee Toliver, Holly D. Gaff, John G. Snodgrass, Richard G. Robbins
Summary: This study illustrates adult females and males of Ixodes affinis and Ixodes scapularis through focus stacking image photography and describes morphological character states that reliably differentiate the two species. These characteristics, along with other environmental cues, allow for rapid identification of adults of either sex in the southern Coastal Plain of the United States where these species coexist.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Entomology
Catherine A. Lippi, Sadie J. Ryan, Alexis L. White, Holly D. Gaff, Colin J. Carlson
Summary: Tick-borne diseases are a growing problem worldwide, and the surveillance and control measures involve various fields such as medical entomology, agricultural health, veterinary medicine, and biosecurity. Spatial approaches can help stakeholders understand the current and future distribution of risk, with major gaps in data utilization and mapping efforts in enzootic cycles of tick-borne pathogens, particularly in Africa and Asia. Future work can focus on applying available methods to track the distributions of tick-borne diseases in these regions following a One Health approach combining medical and veterinary surveillance.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Thabo Lephoto, Henry Mwambi, Oliver Bodhlyera, Holly Gaff
Summary: This study utilized data collected by researchers at the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University in Virginia, USA, to model tick life-stage counts and abundance variability. Spatio-temporal negative binomial models outperformed Poisson models in analyzing the data, suggesting that this model is more suitable for the analysis. Results indicated that covariates varied spatially across counties, with a decreasing time effect over the study period and increasing space-time interaction effects in York County.
Article
Entomology
Ciera N. Morris, Holly D. Gaff, Roy D. Berghaus, C. Morgan Wilson, Elizabeth R. Gleim
Summary: A comparative phenological study was conducted in Virginia to understand tick ecology and the increasing incidence of Lyme disease. The study found that Ixodes scapularis from the northeastern United States may be migrating into western Virginia, contributing to the higher incidence of Lyme disease in the region.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Catherine A. A. Lippi, Holly D. D. Gaff, Robyn M. M. Nadolny, Sadie J. J. Ryan
Summary: This study updates the distribution models of D. variabilis and R. montanensis-infected D. variabilis in the United States, using newer surveillance and testing data. The results show consistency in the predicted habitat suitability for D. variabilis, indicating its generalist habitat requirements. However, there is a slight shift in the updated niche distribution, including more southern areas, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and surveillance.
VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Catherine A. Lippi, Samuel Canfield, Christina Espada, Holly D. Gaff, Sadie J. Ryan
Summary: Geographic approaches are increasingly used to assess the risk of tick-borne diseases and inform public health decision-making. This study explored the potential geographic range of a marsh rice rat species and found considerable overlap with the distribution of a tick species in the southeastern United States, highlighting the need for extended surveillance efforts and attention to the role of hosts in transmission cycles.
Article
Entomology
Lindsey Bidder, Holly Gaff
Summary: Adult unfed Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, and Dermacentor variabilis ticks were placed in environmental containers in southeastern Virginia from May to August 2015. Analysis showed significant differences in survival rates among the three species across all field sites. A. maculatum had a higher risk of mortality compared to A. americanum and D. variabilis, and D. variabilis had a higher risk of mortality compared to A. americanum. There was also higher mortality in flooding-prone habitats compared to drier upland habitats. The study concluded that A. americanum was not negatively affected by increased flooding, while A. maculatum was more susceptible to mortality in both dry and flood-prone environments.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Alexis White, Robin Minch, Lindsey Bidder, Holly Gaff
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2020)