Bibliographical studies on human cases of Hard Tick (Acarina: Ixodidae) bites in Japan (1) Cases of Amblyomma testudinarium infestation *
This paper reviewed significant literature on human infestation with the hard tick, Amblyomma testudinarium（Koch, 1844）occurring in Japan between 1960 and 2005. A total of 108 patients （61 males, 39 females, 8 unknown）have been reported in the literature. The patients have been distributed widely throughout Japan except for the Hokkaido and Tohoku districts. The highest incidence of cases was in Miyazaki Prefecture（13.0％）in southern Japan. The tick infestation of the reported cases most frequently occurred between April and September, and the highest incidence was in June（20.5％）.The age range of the patients was from 2 to 92 years old, and the highest incidence was found in persons in the seventies（25.0％）.The most common infestation site was on the skin of the lower half of the body（69.5％）, particularly the thigh（18.0％）and perianal region（8.4％）.The tick bites in the majority of the cases were principally acquired in mountainous areas. (Accepted on September 20，2007)
