Phenology of five tick species in the central Great Plains.

The states of Kansas and Oklahoma, in the central Great Plains, lie at the western periphery of the geographic distributions of several tick species. As the focus of most research on ticks and tick-borne diseases has been on Lyme disease which commonly occurs in areas to the north and east, the ticks of this region have seen little research attention. Here, we report on the phenology and activity patterns shown by tick species observed at 10 sites across the two states and explore factors associated with abundance of all and life specific individuals of the dominant species. Ticks were collected in 2020-2022 using dragging, flagging and carbon-dioxide trapping techniques, designed to detect questing ticks. The dominant species was A. americanum (24098, 97%) followed by Dermacentor variabilis (370, 2%), D. albipictus (271, 1%), Ixodes scapularis (91, <1%) and A. maculatum (38, <1%). Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum and D. variabilis were active in Spring and Summer, while D. albipictus and I. scapularis were active in Fall and Winter. Factors associated with numbers of individuals of A. americanum included day of year, habitat, and latitude. Similar associations were observed when abundance was examined by life-stage. Overall, the picture is one of broadly distributed tick species that shows seasonal limitations in the timing of their questing activity.

Seasonality of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Activity and Prevalence of Infection with Tick-Borne Disease Agents in North Central Oklahoma.

Background: Amblyomma americanum is the most common tick infesting both animals and humans in the southern United States and transmits a variety of zoonotic agents. The rise in tick-borne diseases (TBD) globally imparts a need for more active surveillance of tick populations to accurately quantify prevalence and risk of tick-borne infectious organisms. To better understand TBD risk in north central Oklahoma, this study aimed to describe the current seasonal activity of A. americanum in this region and investigate the seasonality of tick-borne infectious agents. Materials and Methods: Tick collections were performed twice a month for a duration of 2 years at a field site in Payne County, Oklahoma. Total nucleic acid was extracted from a subset of adult A. americanum and tested for Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia spp., and Borrelia spp. using established PCR protocols. Results: Peak activity times for each life stage were observed, with adults primarily active 1 month earlier than historical seasonal trends describe, and male A. americanum active earlier in the year than female A. americanum. Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, and Borrelia lonestari were found in 26.4%, 6.1%, 2.5%, and 1.1% of adult A. americanum, respectively. No seasonal trend in spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. (SFGR) was observed in peak activity months. Conclusions: This study found an apparently shifting phenology for A. americanum adults in Oklahoma. While these results did not show a trend in SFGR, further investigation is needed to better understand the potential seasonality of infection prevalence within A. americanum across the expanding range of this vector, especially considering the extended activity of males in winter months.

Prevalence of selected pathogens in ectoparasites from free-roaming domestic cats in the southern Great Plains of the United States.

Rickettsia sp. and Bartonella sp. were detected in ectoparasites of free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) from a trap-neuter-release program in central Oklahoma during January and February 2020. We used polymerase chain reaction and sequencing to identify fleas containing DNA of five different pathogens: Rickettsia felis (84%), 'Candidatus R. andeanae' (8%), Bartonella henselae (32%), Bartonella clarridgeiae (36%), and Bartonella sp. (8%). Co-infections with R. felis with three Bartonella species were identified. One tick was positive for R. felis, one flea was positive for 'Candidatus R. andeanae' and one ear mite was positive for a Bartonella species. These results highlight the need for more focus on free-roaming domestic cats and their ectoparasites in the Great Plains region.