Experimental and Applied Acarology

, Volume 45, Issue 3–4, pp 195–198 | Cite as

Ticks infesting domestic animals in northern Greece

  • Vasiliki Pavlidou
  • Spyros Gerou
  • Melania Kahrimanidou
  • Anna Papa
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The tick species infesting grazing animals in the countryside of 11 prefectures in Northern Greece were investigated during April–July and September–December of consecutive years 2003–2006. A total of 3,249 (1,952 males, 1,297 females) adult ticks were collected from goats, sheep, cattle and dogs. Ticks were identified as Ixodes ricinus (44.57%), Ixodes gibbosus (4.09%), Rhipicephalus bursa (19.14%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus turanicus (5.79%), Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (12.40%), Dermacentor marginatus (0.31%) and Boophilus annulatus (4.43%). Rhipicephalus spp. and Hyalomma spp. were abundant in all prefectures, Ixodes spp. were present in 9/11 prefectures, Boophilus spp. in 4/11, while Dermacentor spp. were found only in one. Results of this study give an insight into the ecology of ticks and their potential of tick-borne diseases in the country.

Keywords

Ticks Ixodidae Greece 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Charrel RN, Attoui H, Butenko AM, Clegg JC, Deubel V, Frolova TV, Gould EA, Gritsun TS, Heinz FX, Labuda M, Lashkevich VA, Loktev V, Lundkvist A, Lvov DV, Mandl CW, Niedrig M, Papa A, Petrov VS, Plyusnin A, Randolph S, Süss J, Zlobin VI, de Lamballerie X (2004) Tick-borne virus diseases of human interest in Europe. Clin Microbiol Infect 10:1040–1055PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Danielova V, Rudenko N, Daniel M, Holubova J, Materna J, Golovchenko M, Schwarzová L (2006) Extension of Ixodes ricinus ticks and agents of tick-borne diseases to mountain areas in the Czech Republic. Int J Med Microbiol 296:48–53PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Estrada-Pena A, Bouattour A, Camica JL, Walzer AR (2004) Ticks of domestic animals in the Mediterranean region: a guide to identification of species. University of Zaragoza, Spain; Atalanta, Houten, The Netherlands, pp 1–131Google Scholar
  4. Papadopoulos B, Morel PC, Aeschlimann A (1996) Ticks of domestic animals in the Macedonian region of Greece. Vet Parasitol 63:25–40PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Papazahariadou MG, Papadopoulos EG, Himonas CA (1995) Seasonal activity of ixodid ticks on goats in northern Greece. Vet Rec 136:585–588Google Scholar
  6. Parola P, Raoult D (2001) Tick-borne bacterial diseases emerging in Europe. Clin Microbiol Infect 7:80–83PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Pavlidou V, Gerou S, Diza E, Antoniadis A, Papa A (2007) Epidemiological study of Tick-borne Encephalitis virus in Northern Greece. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 7:611–616PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Psaroulaki A, Ragiadakou D, Kouris G, Papadopoulos B, Chaniotis B, Tselentis Y (2006) Ticks, tick-borne rickettsiae, and Coxiella burnetii in the Greek Island of Cephalonia. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1078:389–399PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Randolph SE, Green RM, Peacey MF, Rogers DJ (2000) Seasonal synchrony: the key to tick-borne encephalitis foci identified by satellite data. Parasitology 121:15–23PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Vasiliki Pavlidou
    • 1
  • Spyros Gerou
    • 1
  • Melania Kahrimanidou
    • 1
  • Anna Papa
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Microbiology (WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses), Medical SchoolAristotle UniversityThessalonikiGreece

Personalised recommendations