Abstract
Ticks of nine small mammal species were studied in an area of endemic Lyme disease in Hailin County, Heilongjiang Province, from 1 May to 10 October 1986. The bulk (93%) total small mammal captures wereApodemus speciouss (45%),Clethrionomys rufocanus (31%),A. agrarius (11%) andEutamias sibiricus; (5%): these host species accounted for 97% of the 162 ticks collected.Ixodes persulcatus Schulze were most abundant onE. sibiricus (0.64 larvae and 0.08 nymphs/squirrel), and less abundant onA. agrarius (1.16 larvae/mouse),A. speciosus (0.38 larvae/mouse) andC. rufocanus (0.37 larvae and nymphs/vole). The seasonal abundance pattern of larvalI. persulcatus on four small mammal species appears as a bimodal peak (June and September), but nymphalI. persulcatus has a monomodal peak during spring. The prevalence of immatureI. persulcatus on four small mammal species may play an important role in the epidemiology of Lyme disease in Hailin County.
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Ai, C., Qiu, G., Shi, Z. et al. Host associations and seasonal abundance of immatureIxodes persulcatus (Acari: Ixodidae) in a lyme-disease-endemic area in china. Exp Appl Acarol 12, 251–257 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01193471
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01193471