Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore
Summary: Ticks are an increasingly important threat to public health in Southeast Asia, due to the role of many tick species as parasites of humans and as vectors of zoonotic pathogens. Singapore is a densely populated Southeast Asian nation with a rich tick fauna and a significant mosaic of city an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X25000056 |
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| author | Mackenzie L. Kwak Jean-Marc Chavatte Chia-Da Hsu Abigail Ng Benjamin P Y-H Lee Nazmi Bin Nazir Nadia Faradilla Maharani Abas Erica Qian Hui Lee Ryo Nakao Benoit Malleret |
| author_facet | Mackenzie L. Kwak Jean-Marc Chavatte Chia-Da Hsu Abigail Ng Benjamin P Y-H Lee Nazmi Bin Nazir Nadia Faradilla Maharani Abas Erica Qian Hui Lee Ryo Nakao Benoit Malleret |
| author_sort | Mackenzie L. Kwak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Ticks are an increasingly important threat to public health in Southeast Asia, due to the role of many tick species as parasites of humans and as vectors of zoonotic pathogens. Singapore is a densely populated Southeast Asian nation with a rich tick fauna and a significant mosaic of city and greenspace. However, apart from occasional case reports, the human-biting ticks in Singapore have received little attention from researchers. Based on an ongoing nationwide tick surveillance program beginning in 2018 and literature records (since 2002), we present data from 51 cases of tick infestation in humans in Singapore involving 128 individual ticks of 11 species. The genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Ixodes, and Amblyomma were all found to bite humans in Singapore. The most common species infesting humans in Singapore was Dermacentor auratus which was responsible for more than half of all infestations. The first records of Haemaphysalis papuana in Singapore are also presented, with 3 cases of human infestation by this tick species. Finally, we highlight the Singapore National Tick Reference Collection (SNTRC) as an invaluable resource for the identification and study of ticks in Singapore. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2910ba6885284e1284fa66aed3762855 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1877-9603 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases |
| spelling | doaj-art-2910ba6885284e1284fa66aed37628552025-02-05T04:31:35ZengElsevierTicks and Tick-Borne Diseases1877-96032025-01-01161102441Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in SingaporeMackenzie L. Kwak0Jean-Marc Chavatte1Chia-Da Hsu2Abigail Ng3Benjamin P Y-H Lee4Nazmi Bin Nazir5Nadia Faradilla Maharani Abas6Erica Qian Hui Lee7Ryo Nakao8Benoit Malleret9Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; IUCN parasite specialist group, Gland, Switzerland; Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan; Corresponding authors.National Public Health Laboratory, National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Ministry of Health SingaporeDepartment of Veterinary Healthcare, Mandai Wildlife Group, SingaporeIUCN parasite specialist group, Gland, SwitzerlandWildlife & Natural Heritage Division, The Royal Commission of AlUla, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, SingaporeDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, SingaporeDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, SingaporeLaboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, JapanDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Immunology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Corresponding authors.Summary: Ticks are an increasingly important threat to public health in Southeast Asia, due to the role of many tick species as parasites of humans and as vectors of zoonotic pathogens. Singapore is a densely populated Southeast Asian nation with a rich tick fauna and a significant mosaic of city and greenspace. However, apart from occasional case reports, the human-biting ticks in Singapore have received little attention from researchers. Based on an ongoing nationwide tick surveillance program beginning in 2018 and literature records (since 2002), we present data from 51 cases of tick infestation in humans in Singapore involving 128 individual ticks of 11 species. The genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Ixodes, and Amblyomma were all found to bite humans in Singapore. The most common species infesting humans in Singapore was Dermacentor auratus which was responsible for more than half of all infestations. The first records of Haemaphysalis papuana in Singapore are also presented, with 3 cases of human infestation by this tick species. Finally, we highlight the Singapore National Tick Reference Collection (SNTRC) as an invaluable resource for the identification and study of ticks in Singapore.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X25000056OtoacariasisZoonosisSpilloverTick-borne diseaseHaemaphysalis papuana |
| spellingShingle | Mackenzie L. Kwak Jean-Marc Chavatte Chia-Da Hsu Abigail Ng Benjamin P Y-H Lee Nazmi Bin Nazir Nadia Faradilla Maharani Abas Erica Qian Hui Lee Ryo Nakao Benoit Malleret Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases Otoacariasis Zoonosis Spillover Tick-borne disease Haemaphysalis papuana |
| title | Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore |
| title_full | Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore |
| title_fullStr | Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore |
| title_short | Nation-wide surveillance of tick (Acari: Ixodidae) infestations of humans in Singapore |
| title_sort | nation wide surveillance of tick acari ixodidae infestations of humans in singapore |
| topic | Otoacariasis Zoonosis Spillover Tick-borne disease Haemaphysalis papuana |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X25000056 |
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