Published in Journal of medical entomology
The bat tick Ornithodoros mimon Kohls, Clifford & Jones is currently known by only few reports in Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, and the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. Here, we expand the distribution of O. mimon in Brazil to the states of Minas Gerais (southeastern region), Goiás (central-western), Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte (no...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
The human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), is an obligate ectoparasite that causes pediculosis capitis and has parasitized humans since the beginning of humankind. Head louse infestations are widespread throughout the world and have been increasing since the early 1990s partially because of ineffective pedi...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
An understanding of how climate variables drive seasonal dynamics of mosquito populations is critical to mitigating negative impacts of potential outbreaks, including both nuisance effects and risk of mosquito-borne infectious disease. Here, we identify climate variables most affecting seasonal dynamics of two major floodwater mosquitoes, Aedes vex...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
The long-term efficacy of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) depends on both the physical condition of the net and the residual activity of the insecticide. This study focused on monitoring these parameters in Olyset nets (Sumitomo Chemical Co., Osaka, Japan) (n = 101) that had been used for 1-3 yr in Tafea Province, Vanuatu. Net usage and freq...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
The aim of this study was to survey the bacterial diversity of Amblyomma maculatum Koch, 1844, and characterize its infection with Rickettsia parkeri. Pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA was used to determine the total bacterial population in A. maculatum. Pyrosequencing analysis identified Rickettsia in A. maculatum midguts, salivary glands, ...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
The medical importance of the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch and Mulaik, is well known, but there is a need for more accurate information about the distribution of the spider in North America. We gathered information via an Internet offer to identify spiders in Illinois and Iowa that were thought to be brown recluses. We also mine...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
Lyme borreliosis is caused by spirochetes from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex. In the United States, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.; Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner) is the most common cause of human Lyme borreliosis. With >25,000 cases reported annually, it is the most common vector-borne disease in the Uni...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
In temperate regions, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) populations remain in the egg stage during the cold season. To ensure the start of a new breeding season, eggs should hatch at the beginning of a favorable period. The aim of the current study was to investigate the hatching response of two Ae. aegypti egg batches collected and stored fo...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
Biodiversity and relative abundance of ticks and associated arboviruses in Garissa (northeastern) and Isiolo (eastern) provinces of Kenya were evaluated. Ticks were collected from livestock, identified to species, pooled, and processed for virus isolation. In Garissa, Rhipicephalus pulchellus Gerstacker (57.8%) and Hyalomma truncatum Koch (27.8%) w...
Published in Journal of medical entomology
A central concept in forensic entomology is that arthropod succession on carrion is predictable and can be used to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) of human remains. However, most studies have reported significant variation in successional patterns, particularly among replicate carcasses, which has complicated estimates of PMIs. Several foren...
