Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a competent vector of Rickettsia rickettsii in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where outbreaks of Rocky Mountain spotted fever centered on free-roaming dogs have caused dozens of pediatric deaths. The dog-tick-human cycle there is responsible for some of the highest RMSF case-fatality rates in the world.
Dermacentor occidentalis transmits Rickettsia 364D (now classified as Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica), the cause of Pacific…
Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, transmitted by the Gulf Coast tick, causes fever, headache, and a near-pathognomonic black eschar at the…
Amblyomma cajennense (sensu lato) - now recognized as a complex of six closely related species - is the principal Latin American vector of…
Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the only major tick species that can complete its full life cycle indoors. Engorged females drop off a dog and…
Dermacentor variabilis adults have ornate white-and-brown mottling on the scutum and are roughly the size of a watermelon seed when unfed.…
A single tick species, Amblyomma americanum, transmits ehrlichiosis from Ehrlichia chaffeensis and E. ewingii, tularemia, Heartland virus,…