''Ixodes persulcatus'', the

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

tick, is a species of hard-bodied tick distributed from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

through central and northern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

to the

People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

of the species is marked, the male being much smaller than the female. Hosts include wild and domestic

ungulates Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...

, man, dog, rabbit, and other small mammals, including the

dormouse A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

Amur hedgehog The Amur hedgehog (''Erinaceus amurensis''), also called the Manchurian hedgehog, is a hedgehog similar to the European hedgehog in appearance and behaviour, although it is more lightly coloured. It is native to Amur Oblast and Primorye in Russia ...

, and occasionally birds.

Disease transmission

''Ixodes persulcatus'' ticks transmit

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...

relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus ''Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks (genus ''Ornithodoros''). Signs and symptoms Most people who are ...

(''

Borrelia miyamotoi ''Borrelia miyamotoi'' is a bacterium of the spirochete phylum in the genus ''Borrelia''. A zoonotic organism, ''B. miyamotoi'' can infect humans through the bite of several species of hard-shell ''Ixodes'' ticks, the same kind of ticks that spre ...

''),

babesiosis Babesiosis or piroplasmosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with a eukaryotic parasite in the order Piroplasmida, typically a ''Babesia'' or ''Theileria'', in the phylum Apicomplexa. Human babesiosis transmission via ti ...

, and Siberian (TBEV-Sib) and Far Eastern (TBEV-FE)

tick-borne encephalitis Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. The disease most often manifests as meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis. Myelitis and spinal paralysis also occurs. In about one third ...

, and probably

human granulocytic anaplasmosis Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a tick-borne, infectious disease caused by ''Anaplasma phagocytophilum'', an obligate intracellular bacterium that is typically transmitted to humans by ticks of the '' Ixodes ricinus'' species complex, i ...

as well. A recent study of the northernmost tick-borne encephalitis focus in Simo, Finnish Lapland, found ''I. persulcatus'' ticks in scattered foci along the western coast, including the

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

and

Närpes Närpes (; fi, Närpiö ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia (region), Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. T ...

municipality, demonstrating a northward movement of foci and an unusual combination of the TBEV-Eur strain and ''I. persulcatus'' ticks in an area with no evidence of cocirculation of tick species or TBEV subtypes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q640825 persulcatus Arachnids of Asia Arachnids of Europe Arthropods of China Chelicerates of Japan Animals described in 1930 Parasites of birds