Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Exotic ticks removed from German travelers

  • Research
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We report the finding of five nymphs and three adult ticks attached to German tourists while traveling the American continents. All eight specimens were morphologically identified and confirmed genetically using the 16S rRNA gene and screened for Rickettsia spp. infections. Five tick species were identified: one Amblyomma mixtum nymph from Ecuador, one Amblyomma varium nymph from Colombia, three Amblyomma coelebs nymphs from Costa Rica, one Amblyomma americanum male from the USA, one Dermacentor andersoni female and one D. andersoni male from Canada. Tick-borne microorganisms screening using the pan-Rickettsia-PCR resulted in two positive and six negative ticks. The A. mixtum nymph was positive for Rickettsia amblyommatis, while the D. andersoni female was positive for Rickettsia peacockii.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of data and materials

Sequences of ticks and Rickettsia were submitted in GenBank where they can be freely accessed according the accession number mentioned in the manuscript.

References

  • Alderdice JM, Burgess IE (1998) The travels of a lone star tick. J CIin Pathol 51:403

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alkishe A, Raghavan RK, Peterson AT (2021) Likely geographic distributional shifts among medically important tick species and tick-associated diseases under climate change in North America: a review. Insects 12(3):225. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030225

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Apperson CS, Engber B, Nicholson WL, Mead DG, Engel J, Yabsley MJ, Dail K, Johnson J, Watson DW (2008) Tick-borne diseases in North Carolina: is “Rickettsia amblyommii” a possible cause of rickettsiosis reported as Rocky Mountain spotted fever? Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 8:597–606

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arthur DR (1960) Ticks, a monograph of the Ixodoidea. Part V: on the genera Dermacentor, Anocentor, Cosmiomma, Boophilus & Margaropus. Cambridge University Press, London, United Kingdom

  • Bermúdez SE, Troyo CA (2018) A review of the genus Rickettsia in Central America. Res Rep Trop Med 9:103–112

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Childs JE, Paddock CD (2003) The ascendancy of Amblyomma americanum as a vector of pathogens affecting humans in the United States. Annu Rev Entomol 48:307–337. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.48.091801.112728

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chitimia-Dobler L, Mans BJ (2022) An exotic souvenir on a German traveler returning from South Africa. Parasitol Res 121:1527–1531

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chitimia-Dobler L, Rieß R, Kahl O, Wölfel S, Dobler G, Nava S, Estrada-Peña A (2018) Ixodes inopinatus – occurring also outside the Mediterranean region. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 9:196–200

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chitimia-Dobler L, Schaper S, Mansfeld P, Gonschorrek J, Bröker M, Nava S (2020) Detection of Amblyomma mixtum (Acari: Ixodidae) in Germany on a human traveler returning from Cuba. J Med Entomol 57:962–964

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chitimia-Dobler L, Schaper S, Bröker M, Nava S (2021) Long-term itching in a tourist following bite by a nymph of Dermacentor auratus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Cambodia. J Med Entomol 58:2495–2498

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley RA, Kohls GM (1944) The genus Amblyomma (Ixodidae) in the United States. J Parasitol 30:77–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisen L (2007) Seasonal pattern of host-seeking activity by the human-biting adult life stage of Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol 44(2):359–366. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2007)44[359:spohab]2.0.co;2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisen L (2022) Ticks species infesting humans in the United States. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 13:102025Estrada-Peña A, Jongejan F (1999) Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol 23:685–715

    Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A, Jongejan F (1999) Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol 23:685–715

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A, Tarragona EL, Vesco U, Meneghi DB, Mastropaolo M, Mangold AJ, Guglielmone AA, Nava S (2014) Divergent environmental preferences and areas of sympatry of tick species in the Amblyomma cajennense complex (Ixodidae). Int J Parasitol 44:1081–1089

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faccini-Martínez ÁA, Martins TF, Silveira I, Labruna MB (2021) Detection of Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae) in Brazil on a human traveler returning from the United States. J Med Entomol 58(2):947–949

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Felsheim RF, Kurtti TJ, Munderloh UG (2009) Genome sequence of the endosymbiont Rickettsia peacockii and comparison with virulent Rickettsia rickettsii: Identification of virulence factors. PLoS ONE 4(12):e8361. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0008361

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fournier PE, Roux V, Raoult D (1998) Phylogenetic analysis of spotted fever group rickettsiae by study of the outer surface protein rOmpA. Int J Syst Bacteriol 48(Pt 3):839–849

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG (2018) Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) parasitizing humans. Springer, Switzerland, p 314

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Robbins RG, Apanaskevich DA, Petney TN, Estrada-Peña A, Horak IG (2014) The hard ticks of the world (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae). Springer, Switzerland, p 738

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Guglielmone AA, Nava S, Robbins RG (2023) Geographic distribution of the hard ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) of the world by countries and territories. Zootaxa 5251(1):001–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall C (2019) Biological invasion, biosecurity, tourism, and globalisation. In: Handbook of globalisation and tourism. Edward Elgar Publishing, Chetenham

  • Halos L, Jamal T, Vial L, Maillard R, Suau A, Le Menach A, Boulouis H-J, Vayssier-Taussat M (2004) Determination of an efficient and reliable method for DNA extraction from ticks. Vet Res 35:709–713

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heath AC, Hardwick S (2011) The role of humans in the importation of ticks to New Zealand: a threat to public health and biosecurity. N Z Med J 124:67–82

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ito K, Taniguchi H, Ohtaki N, Ando S, Kawabata H (2017) A first case of a tick bite by Amblyomma coelebs in Japan. J Dermatol 45:243–244

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katoh K, Standley DM (2013) MAFFT multiple sequence alignment software version 7: improvements in performance and usability. Mol Biol Evol 30:772–780

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keirans JE, Durden LA (1998) Illustrated key to nymphs of the tick genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) found in the United States. J Med Entomol 35:489495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krawczak FS, Nieri-Bastos FA, Nunes FP, Soares JF, Moraes-Filho J, Labruna MB (2014) Rickettsial infection in Amblyomma cajennense ticks and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a Brazilian spotted fever-endemic area. Parasit Vectors 7:7

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labruna MB, Santos FC, Ogrzewalska M, Nascimento EM, Colombo S, Marcili A, Angerami RN (2014) Genetic identification of rickettsial isolates from fatal cases of Brazilian spotted fever and comparison with Rickettsia rickettsii isolates from the American continents. J Clin Microbiol 52:3788–3791

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labruna ML, Romero M, Martins TF, Tobler M, Ferreira F (2010) Ticks of the genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and Peccaries (Tayassu pecari) in Peru. Syst App Acarol 15(2):109–112. https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.15.2.3

  • Levin ML, Zemtsova GE, Killmaster LF, Snellgrove A, Schumacher LBM (2017) Vector competence of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) for Rickettsia rickettsii. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 8(4):615–622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.04.006

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martins TF, Onofrio VC, Barros-Battesti DM, Labruna MB (2010) Nymphs of the genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) of Brazil: descriptions, redescriptions, and identification key. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 1:75–99

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martins TF, Labruna MB, Mangold AJ, Cafrune MM, Guglielmone AA, Nava S (2014) Taxonomic key to nymphs of the genus Amblyomma (Acari: Ixodidae) in Argentina, with description and redescription of the nymphal stage of four Amblyomma species. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 5:753–770

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martins TF, Barbieri AR, Costa FB, Terassini FA, Camargo LM, Peterka CR, de C Pacheco R, Dias RA, Nunes PH, Marcili A, Scofield A, Campos AK, Horta MC, Guilloux AGA, Benatti HR, Ramirez DG, Barros-Battesti DM, Labruna MB (2016) Geographical distribution of Amblyomma cajennense (sensu lato) ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae) in Brazil, with description of the nymph of A. cajennense (sensu stricto). Parasit Vectors 9:186

  • Minh BQ, Schmidt HA, Chernomor O, Schrempf D, Woodhams MD, von Haeseler A, Lanfear R (2020) IQ-TREE 2: new models and efficient methods for phylogenetic inference in the genomic era. Mol Biol Evol 37:1530–1534

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell CL, Lin FC, Vaughn M, Apperson CS, Meshnick SR, Commins SP (2020) Association between lone star tick bites and increased alpha-gal sensitization: evidence from a prospective cohort of outdoor workers. Parasit Vectors 13:470. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04343-4

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molaei G, Karpathy SE, Andreadis TG (2019) First report of the introduction of an exotic tick, Amblyomma coelebs (Acari: Ixodidae), feeding on a human traveler returning to the United States from Central America. J Parasitol 105:571–575

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nava S, Beati L, Labruna MB, Cáceres AG, Mangold AJ, Guglielmone AA (2014) Reassessment of the taxonomic status of Amblyomma cajennense with the description of three new species, Amblyomma tonelliae n. sp., Amblyomma interandinum n. sp. and Amblyomma patinoi n. sp., and reinstatement of Amblyomma mixtum, and Amblyomma sculptum (Ixodida: Ixodidae). Ticks Tick Borne Dis 5:252–276

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nava S, Venzal JM, González-Acuña D, Martins TF, Guglielmone AA (2017) Ticks of the Southern cone of America: diagnosis, distribution and hosts with taxonomy, ecology and sanitary importance. Elsevier, Academic Press, London, p 348

    Google Scholar 

  • Noda AA, Rodríguez I, Miranda J, Mattar S, Cabezas-Cruz A (2016) First report of spotted fever group Rickettsia in Cuba. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 7:1057–1058

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nogueira BCF, Campos AK, Muñoz-Leal S, Pinter A, Martins TF (2022) Soft and hard ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodida) on humans: a review of Brazilian biomes and the impact of environmental change Acta Trop 234:106598

  • Okino T, Ushirogawa H, Matoba K, Hatsushika R (2007) A bibliographical study of human cases of hard ticks (Acarina: Ixodidae) bites recived abroad and found in Japan. Kawasaki Med J 33:189–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichard MV, Edwards AC, Meinkoth JH, Snider TA, Meinkoth KR, Heinz RE, Little SE (2010) Confirmation of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) as a vector for Cytauxzoon felis (Piroplasmorida: Theileriidae) to domestic cats. J Med Entomol 47(5):890–896. https://doi.org/10.1603/me10013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson LE (1926) Ticks.A monograph of the Ixodoidea. Part IV. The genus Amblyomma. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Tamura K, Peterson D, Peterson N, Stecher G, Nei M, Kumar S (2011) MEGA5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Mol Biol Evol 28:2731–2739

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarragona EL, Soares JF, Costa FB, Labruna MB, Nava S (2016) Vectorial competence of Amblyomma tonelliae to transmit Rickettsia rickettsii. Med Vet Entomol 30:410–415

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarragona EL, Sebastian PS, Guglielmone AA, Nava S (2021) Exotic tick detected in Argentina on a tourist returning from South Africa. Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports 24:100544

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tufts DM, Diuk-Wasser MA (2021) First hemispheric report of invasive tick species Haemaphysalis punctata, first state report of Haemaphysalis longicornis, and range expansion of native tick species in Rhode Island, USA. Parasit Vectors 14:394

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wölfel R, Essbauer S, Dobler G (2008) Diagnostics of tick-borne rickettsioses in Germany: a modern concept for a neglected disease. Int J Med Microbiol 298:368–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The researcher T.F.M. is supported by “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo” (FAPESP Process n 2019/03167–0, 2020/05987–1). No funding was received for the other authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Neuherbergstrasse 11, 80937, Munich, Germany

    Lidia Chitimia-Dobler, Sabine Schaper & Gerhard Dobler

  2. Department of Parasitology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

    Katrin Fachet, Alexander Lindau, Ute Mackenstedt & Gerhard Dobler

  3. Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Christina Strube & Andrea Springer

  4. Hessian State Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Giessen, Germany

    Tobias Eisenberg

  5. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Rafaela, Argentina

    Santiago Nava

  6. Institut Pasteur of the São Paulo State Department of Health, São Paulo, Brazil

    Thiago Fernandes Martins

  7. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Thiago Fernandes Martins

Authors
  1. Lidia Chitimia-Dobler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Katrin Fachet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alexander Lindau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ute Mackenstedt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Christina Strube
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Andrea Springer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Tobias Eisenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Sabine Schaper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Santiago Nava
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Gerhard Dobler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Thiago Fernandes Martins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

LCD identified the ticks, took the photos, organize the lab work, coordinated the analysis, and wrote the manuscript; KF, AL, UM, CS, AS, and TE collected or received the ticks and made the initial identification; SS conducted the PCR tests; SN analysed the sequences and submitted them in GenBank; GD analysed the Rickettsia results; TFM contributed to the tick identification and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and proofed the final version of manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lidia Chitimia-Dobler.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

All the ticks were sent for diagnostic investigation by the infested humans and they gave consent to participate and publish. Therefore, an ethical approval was not necessary and all ticks can be included in the study and be published.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Julia Walochnik

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chitimia-Dobler, L., Fachet, K., Lindau, A. et al. Exotic ticks removed from German travelers. Parasitol Res 123, 120 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08144-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08144-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation