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Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) uncommonly found biting humans in North Carolina
B A Harrison1, B R Engber, C S Apperson
1Public Health Pest Management, N. C. Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, Winston-Salem 27107, USA.
Abstract:
Collection records are presented that document human-biting by Otobius megnini, Amblyomma maculatum, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Ixodes cookei, Ixodes dentatus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus in North Carolina. These species are either extremely rare in North Carolina or they are normally considered non-human feeders. The record of Otobius megnini represents the first collection of this species in North Carolina in over 50 years. It is proposed that immature Rhipicephalus sanguineus feed on humans much more than previously suspected and that they represent a threat for the transmission of pathogens to humans.