| Photos from the 2004 East Tennessee Collegiate Division Meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science held at Pellissippi State Technical Community College |
An Analysis on the Common Tick Species Found in the Chattanooga-Hamilton Region of Tennessee and Their Correlation to the Reported Cases of Vector-Borne Diseases from 1995-2001
Astrid von Walter and Safawo Gullo.
Southern Adventist University.
Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus are three-host ticks commonly found in the Chattanooga-Hamilton region of Tennessee. The first three genera are medically important in that they are known to transmit Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Lyme disease, respectively. Rhipicephalus is not known to vector any human infecting pathogens; therefore, not considered clinically significant. Certain anatomical features of hard ticks such as the capitulum and scutum ornamentation are used to differentiate between genus and specie.
The focus of this study was to correlate the frequency of A. americanum, D. variabilis, and I. scapularis in the Chattanooga region to reported cases of tick-borne diseases from 1995 through 2001. D. variabilis showed a direct relationship between its frequency and the reported cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; however I. scapularis was not as prevalent as A. americanum but there were still more cases of Lyme disease.