TICKS (IXODOIDEA) IN ISRAELI TOWNS

Abstract:
Among argasid ticks, Argas reflexus is one of the main parasites entering and living in houses in many Israeli towns. Its hosts are birds, mainly doves, closely linked with human dwellings. A. latus, a member of the A. reflexus group known only from Turkmenistan, was found in houses in several areas of Jerusalem where it attacked and bit humans. A case of massive attacks of Ornithodoros coniceps was recorded in an apartment in central Jerusalem, probably connected with chickens kept in a nearby yard. Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Ixodidae), the main vector of Mediterranean spotted fever, populates numerous grass-covered sites, sometimes very small ones, in Jerusalem and many other towns. Since R. sanguineus is closely connected with dogs, a number of domestic foci of this tick were revealed in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Beer-Sheva. In such cases, the development of the tick often changes from the normal 3-host cycle to a 2-host cycle when the larvae do not leave the dogs after feeding but molt into nymphs which feed again on the same host. R. turanicus prevailed in more humid sites of waste grounds of several Israeli towns, mainly in the coastal plain (e.g., Tel-Aviv and Haifa). Occasional bites of Ixodes redikorzevi followed by toxicosis have been recorded in Jerusalem, its surroundings and in several other towns. Adult Haemaphysalis parva have sometimes been found in Jerusalem on dogs in winter months. Several cases of the introduction of tick vectors from the U.S.A. to Israel, either on people or in their luggage, with subsequent attachment to their carriers were recorded. The following species were identified: nymphal Ixodes scapularis brought from New Jersey, adult Amblyomma americanum from New York, and adult Dermacentor variabilis from Alabama.