Bibliographical studies on human cases of Hard Tick (Acarina: Ixodidae) bites in Japan (5) cases of Ixodes acutitarsus and I. turdus infestation *
This paper reviewed the significant literature on human infestation with the hard ticks, Ixodes acutitarsus (Karsch, 1880) and I. turdus (Nakatsuji, 1942) occurring in Japan between 1959 and 2005, and between 1990 and 2005, respectively. A total of 12 patients (7 males, 3 females, 2 unknown) infested by I. acutitarsus , and 8 patients (3 males, 5 females) infested by I. turdus were reported in the literature. I. acutitarsus patients were distributed widely in Japan except for the Hokkaido and Tohoku districts and the southwest islands. I. turdus patients were mostly distributed in the Tohoku, Kanto and Chubu districts. The highest incidence of cases was found in Toyama Prefecture (36.4%) in central Japan for I. acutitarsus , and in Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture (25.0% each) in central Japan for I. turdus . For I. acutitarsus , the tick infestation of the reported cases occurred in the period from April to October, with the highest incidence being found in April (44.4%). For I. turdus , the tick infestation of the reported cases occurred in the period from April to November, with the highest incidence being found in April (50.0%). The age ranges of the I. acutitarsus and I. turdus patients were from 3 to 65 and 2 to 70 years of age, respectively. The highest incidences of I. acutitrasus and I. turdus were found in persons in the sixties (30.0%), and in younger children under the age of nine (57.1%), respectively. The most common infestation sites of the patients were on the skin of the trunk (60.0%), particularly the thorax (30.0 %), for I. acutitrasus , and the head and neck region (87.5%), particularly the vertex (37.5%), for I. turdus . The tick bites in the majority of the cases were principally acquired during mountain climbing for I. acutitrasus and in a bamboo forest and park for I. turdus . (Accepted on March 2, 2010)
