Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Nymphal Survival and Host-Finding Success in the Eastern United States.

ABSTRACT: The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis Say) is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae), the Lyme disease agent in North America. The basic reproduction number (R0) for B. burgdorferi in I. scapularis in the Northeast is highly sensitive to the probability that engorged larvae survive the winter, molt into nymphs, and find a host. These processes are dependent on local environmental variables, including climate, host population size and movement, and tick behavior. A simple model is presented for estimating host-finding success from the ratio of tick abundance in two subsequent years, accounting for overwinter survival and possible differences in host associations between nymphs and larvae. This model was parameterized using data from two

SUBMITTER: Tufts DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7954101 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature