Entomological Correlates of Babesia microti Prevalence in an Area Where Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Is Endemic
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-1996
Abstract
Zoonotic prevalence of Babesia microti Franca piroplasms infecting white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque, was determined at 34 sites in Rhode Island where nymphal blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, densities ranged from low to hyperabundant (1.7-525.3 nymphs per hour of flagging). Babesia was only detected at sites where tick abundance was moderate to high (>20 nymphs per hour of flagging) and appeared to exhibit a clumped distribution. Where B. microti was detected, the mean number of nymphal ticks collected per hour of flagging was 229.2 compared with a mean of 40.1 at sites where Babesia was not detected. By combining the spatial occurrence of Babesia with a tick density database in a geographic information system, it may be possible to predict the pattern of zoonotic and human infection with B. microti.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Journal of Medical Entomology
Volume
33
Issue
5
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Mather, Thomas N., Matthew C. Nicholson, Renjie Hu, and Nathan J. Miller. "Entomological Correlates of Babesia microti Prevalence in an Area Where Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Is Endemic." Journal of Medical Entomology 33, 5 (1996). doi: 10.1093/jmedent/33.5.866.
