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Midsouth Entomologist

Abstract

One of the primary tick vectors of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), Dermacentor variabilis (Say), is found throughout much of North America, including Mississippi, where numerous cases are reported annually. Although RMSF has long been documented in the US, it may be confused with other zoonoses, which sometimes delays treatment. Therefore, detailed documentation of the distribution and infection rates of this tick is important to public health officials. In this study, two sites in northern Mississippi, the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge and Wall Doxey State Park, were surveyed weekly by drag cloth for a one year period for the presence of D. variabilis. The sites were chosen because northern Mississippi has more cases of RMSF than other parts of the state. Sixty-four adult D. variabilis ticks were collected in these sites and subsequently examined for presence of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae (SFGR), which includes the causative agent of RMSF, Rickettsia rickettsii. None of the ticks collected showed evidence of R. rickettsii or any other SFGR. Despite continued case reporting of RMSF in Mississippi, we found no evidence for natural infection of D. variabilis with R. rickettsii in these two sites in Mississippi during this sampling period.

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