| epidemiologic and diagnostic studies of patients with suspected early lyme disease, missouri, 1990-1993. | a retrospective case-control study investigated 45 missouri outpatients with annular rashes meeting a surveillance case definition for erythema migrans and with onset in 1990-1991. risk factors included being male, living near a body of water, and hunting. twenty patients (44%) associated their rash with the bite of a tick; of these, 5 described an adult amblyomma americanum. a typical rash was described as expanding over time and measuring 8 cm in diameter at 4 days after onset. mild constituti ... | 1995 | 7622891 |
| hemocytic rickettsia-like organisms in ticks: serologic reactivity with antisera to ehrlichiae and detection of dna of agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis by pcr. | ixodid ticks were collected from connecticut, massachusetts, missouri, pennsylvania, rhode island, and british columbia (canada) during 1991 to 1994 to determine the prevalence of infection with hemocytic (blood cell), rickettsia-like organisms. hemolymph obtained from these ticks was analyzed by direct and indirect fluorescent antibody (fa) staining methods with dog, horse, or human sera containing antibodies to ehrlichia canis, ehrlichia equi, or rickettsia rickettsii. of the 693 nymphal and a ... | 1995 | 8567911 |
| some factors affecting infestation of white-tailed deer by blacklegged ticks and winter ticks (acari:ixodidae) in southeastern missouri. | a total of 5,669 ticks of 4 species was collected from 515 hunter killed, white-tailed deer. odocoileus virginianus (zimmerman), in southeastern missouri from 1993 through 1995. the american dog tick, dermacentor variabilis (say) (4 adults), the lone star tick, amblyomma americanum (l.) (57 adults, 2 nymphs), the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis (say) (3,120 adults), and the winter tick, dermacentor albipictus (packard) (2.059 adults, 436 nymphs, 1 larva) were collected. patterns of adult d. ... | 1997 | 9151505 |
| short report: geographic distribution of different genetic types of ehrlichia chaffeensis. | the 120-kd protein gene of ehrlichia chaffeensis was used to characterize ehrlichial dna from seven pools of adult amblyomma americanum ticks. ticks from missouri, kentucky, and north carolina contained e. chaffeensis dna of the arkansas strain genotype. ticks from north carolina also contained ehrlichiae of the sapulpa strain genotype, originally identified in oklahoma. | 1997 | 9230803 |
| the travels of a lone star tick. | a lone-star tick, amblyomma americanum, was found as a pedunculated lesion on the back of the arm of an 84 year old man in northern ireland. this was acquired on a visit to the usa. the tick is found mainly in texas and the ozark mountains of missouri, with scattered foci in other parts of southern usa. it is the vector of rocky mountain spotted fever. as worldwide travel becomes increasingly common, exotic parasites make occasional appearances in northern europe. | 1998 | 9708212 |
| theileriosis in a white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) fawn. | a white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) fawn was collected in missouri (usa) and submitted for diagnostic evaluation. necropsy and histologic examination revealed severe amblyomma americanum infestation, pronounced icterus, and marked hemosiderin deposition in the liver and spleen. whole blood evaluation revealed a normocytic normochromic anemia and a piroplasm parasitemia of approximately 70%. the piroplasm was identified as theileria cervi by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of th ... | 2005 | 16456174 |
| invasive honeysuckle eradication reduces tick-borne disease risk by altering host dynamics. | despite the ubiquity of invasive organisms and their often deleterious effects on native flora and fauna, the consequences of biological invasions for human health and the ecological mechanisms through which they occur are rarely considered. here we demonstrate that a widespread invasive shrub in north america, amur honeysuckle (lonicera maackii), increases human risk of exposure to ehrlichiosis, an emerging infectious disease caused by bacterial pathogens transmitted by the lone star tick (ambl ... | 2010 | 20937859 |
| rickettsia rickettsii (rickettsiales: rickettsiaceae) in amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) from kansas. | the role of lone star ticks as vectors for rocky mountain spotted fever (rmsf) remains poorly described. we compared the entomological inoculation rates (eirs) for rickettsia spp. for representative sites in missouri and kansas, states that frequently report rmsf each year. host-seeking ticks were collected during 2006 and pooled tick homogenates analyzed by polymerase chain reaction to detect probable r. rickettsii, with confirmation for multiple gene targets performed on individual ticks from ... | 2011 | 21485390 |
| influence of prescribed burns on the abundance of amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) in the missouri ozarks. | the increasingly widespread use of prescribed burns to manage oak (quercus spp.)-hickory (carya spp.) forests in the missouri ozarks, usa, has considerable potential to alter the abundance of amblyomma americanum (l.) (acari: ixodidae), the lone star tick, an important vector of several emerging pathogens. in particular, responses of important tick hosts, primarily white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus), to fire management and the resultant changes in the distribution and abundance of a. ame ... | 2009 | 19769033 |
| natural and experimental infection of white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) from the united states with an ehrlichia sp. closely related to ehrlichia ruminantium. | an ehrlichia sp. (panola mountain [pm] ehrlichia sp.) closely related to ehrlichia ruminantium was recently detected in a domestic goat experimentally infested with lone star ticks (lsts, amblyomma americanum) collected from georgia, usa. the infected goat exhibited pyrexia and mild clinical pathologic abnormalities consistent with ehrlichiosis. at least two other ehrlichia species (ehrlichia chaffeensis and ehrlichia ewingii) are maintained in nature by a cycle involving lsts as the primary vec ... | 2008 | 18436670 |
| rapid detection methods and prevalence estimation for borrelia lonestari glpq in amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) pools of unequal size. | dna was extracted from pools of amblyomma americanum ticks collected from vegetation at two sites in fort leonard wood, missouri and tested for the presence of borrelia spp. two new methods were developed to detect borrelia lonestari dna by targeting the glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase (glpq) gene. the first method detected b. lonestari dna using a sybr green i melting curve analysis of the pcr product obtained with glpq gene primers. the second method, a glpq taqman assay, detected and ... | 2005 | 16011431 |
| polymerase chain reaction detection of cytauxzoon felis from field-collected ticks and sequence analysis of the small subunit and internal transcribed spacer 1 region of the ribosomal rna gene. | cytauxzoon felis produces a disease in domestic cats in the midwest (u.s.a.), which often leads to a fatal outcome. although the clinical disease process is well described, there are still many unanswered questions about this organism. for example, it is unknown whether species of ticks other than dermacentor variabilis can serve as vectors for transmission. with recent reports of surviving cats from limited geographic areas, another relevant question is the potential for genetically less virule ... | 2005 | 15986625 |
| microbiologic evaluation of patients from missouri with erythema migrans. | borrelia lonestari infects amblyomma americanum, the tick species that is the most common cause of tick bites in southeast and south-central united states, and this spirochete has been detected in an erythema migrans (em)-like skin rash in 1 patient. therefore, b. lonestari is considered to be a leading candidate for the etiologic agent of em in this region. | 2005 | 15668867 |
| detection of pathogenic ehrlichia in ticks collected at acquisition sites of human ehrlichiosis in missouri. | we collected 385 ticks from sites in missouri associated with human monocytic ehrlichiosis. using pcr, we detected e. chaffeensis or e. ewingii in 2 of 19 pools of adult amblyomma americanum, 0 of 32 pools of dermacentor variabilis, and 6 (18%) of 39 pools of unspeciated nymphal ticks from 3 of 6 sites associated with disease and one site not associated with disease. we also detected a variant of a. phagocytophila in one nymph pool. | 2004 | 15119113 |
| dna evidence of borrelia lonestari in amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) in southeast missouri. | amblyomma americanum collected near lake wappapello, missouri, tested positive for borrelia lonestari using polymerase chain reaction and sequence analyses of b. lonestari 16s rrna and flagellin (flab) genes. twelve pools containing a total of 214 nymph or adult ticks contained evidence of infection with b. lonestari (minimum prevalence 5.6%). these data suggest that persons in southeast missouri are at risk for exposure to b. lonestari after a. americanum tick bite, a possible cause of erythema ... | 2003 | 14680133 |
| infection rates of amblyomma americanum and dermacentor variabilis by ehrlichia chaffeensis and ehrlichia ewingii in southwest missouri. | both ehrlichia chaffeensis and ehrlichia ewingii are causative agents of human ehrlichiosis. both pathogens are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected lone star tick (amblyomma americanum). since missouri has a high incidence of human monocytic ehrlichiosis, we investigated the prevalence of e. chaffeensis- and e. ewingii-infected a. americanum and dermacentor variabilis (american dog tick) ticks to help assess the relative risk for humans exposed to these vectors. we used a neste ... | 2002 | 12653298 |
| host association and seasonal activity of amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) in missouri. | from june 1993 through june 1996, 2,260 adult, 4,426 nymphal, and 2,178 larval lone star ticks amblyomma americanum (l.) were collected in missouri from vertebrate hosts and by dragging a cloth over vegetation. prevalence, mean intensity, and relative abundance of each stage varied among hosts. the relative abundance of adult lone star ticks was highest on white-tailed deer, but this stage was also collected from raccoons, opossum, red fox, coyotes, and wild turkey. nymphs were collected from gr ... | 2000 | 11128501 |
| identification of an uncultivable borrelia species in the hard tick amblyomma americanum: possible agent of a lyme disease-like illness. | bites from the hard tick amblyomma americanum are associated with a lyme disease-like illness in the southern united states. to identify possible etiologic agents for this disorder, a. americanum ticks were collected in missouri, texas, new jersey, and new york and examined microscopically. uncultivable spirochetes were present in approximately 2% of the ticks. borrelia genus-specific oligonucleotides for the flagellin and 16s rrna genes were used for amplification of dna. products were obtained ... | 1996 | 8568302 |
| evidence supporting the presence of borrelia burgdorferi in missouri. | although lyme disease is commonly seen in the southcentral united states, the epidemiology of the disease is poorly defined there. the purpose of this study was to document the presence of borrelia burgdorferi in ticks collected in southeastern missouri and around the city of st. louis. spirochetes were detected and identified as b. burgdorferi by immunofluorescent antibody (ifa) tests using the monoclonal antibody h5332 in 1.9% of amblyomma americanum and 2.0% of dermacentor variabilis ticks co ... | 1994 | 7943575 |
| Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI) in the North: STARI following a tick bite in Long Island, New York. | The most common clinical manifestation of Lyme disease is the characteristic rash, erythema migrans (EM). In the 1980s EM-like eruptions were reported in Missouri and other southeastern states. The EM-like eruptions, which were of unknown etiology, often followed the bite of the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) and the rash is called STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness). Although the Lone Star tick is found in the Lyme disease-endemic areas of New England and Mid-Atlantic regions o ... | 2011 | 21940418 |
| efficacy of dry ice-baited traps for sampling amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) varies with life stage but not habitat. | the carbon dioxide-baited trap is the most common and effective method for sampling vector life-stage amblyomma americanum (l.) (acari: ixodidae), although confounding environmental variables are rarely considered. a mark-recapture experiment was designed to compare recapture proportions of a. americanum nymphs and adults between two habitat types: old field and oak-hickory forest. powdered fluorescent dye was used to mark a. americanum ticks released in 1-m increments from carbon dioxide-baited ... | 2011 | 21661336 |
| an acarologic survey and amblyomma americanum distribution map with implications for tularemia risk in missouri. | in the united states, tickborne diseases occur focally. missouri represents a major focus of several tickborne diseases that includes spotted fever rickettsiosis, tularemia, and ehrlichiosis. our study sought to determine the potential risk of human exposure to human-biting vector ticks in this area. we collected ticks in 79 sites in southern missouri during june 7-10, 2009, which yielded 1,047 adult and 3,585 nymphal amblyomma americanum, 5 adult amblyomma maculatum, 19 adult dermacentor variab ... | 2011 | 21363979 |
| distribution and prevalence of cytauxzoon felis in bobcats (lynx rufus), the natural reservoir, and other wild felids in thirteen states. | cytauxzoon felis, a protozoan parasite of wild and domestic felids, is the causative agent of cytauxzoonosis in domestic and some exotic felids in the united states. the bobcat (lynx rufus) is the natural reservoir for this parasite, but other felids such as florida panthers (puma concolor coryii) and domestic cats may maintain long-term parasitemias and serve as reservoirs. experimentally, two tick species, dermacentor variabilis and amblyomma americanum, have demonstrated the ability to transm ... | 2010 | 21071149 |
| a call for renewed research on tick-borne francisella tularensis in the arkansas-missouri primary national focus of tularemia in humans. | arkansas-missouri has emerged as the primary u.s. focus of tularemia, which is caused by the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases category a priority pathogen francisella tularensis, over the past 30 yr. there are several pieces of indirect evidence suggesting that a key role of ticks in the transmission of f. tularensis to humans in arkansas-missouri is the primary reason why tularemia has remained a prominent disease of humans in this two-state area while fading away from othe ... | 2007 | 17547223 |
| physician-diagnosed erythema migrans and erythema migrans-like rashes following lone star tick bites. | to differentiate cases of physician-diagnosed erythema migrans and erythema migrans-like rashes associated with lone star tick (amblyomma americanum) bites. | 1998 | 9722725 |