An experiment was performed to determine if laboratory mice can be infested multiple times with A. americanum ticks, as is commonly done in pathogen transmission studies using Ixodes scapularis ticks. Laboratory mice (Mus musculus, BALB/c strain) were infested five times with A. americanum nymphs. The first four infestations were staged at 7 day intervals; the final infestation was performed after a 14-day tick-free period. The effect of multiple infestations on tick viability was monitored by: tick feeding success, days to engorgement, engorged tick weight, molting success, and time to molt. After the fifth infestation, there was no change in tick viability compared to the first infestation, indicating that mice do not develop resistance to A. americanum nymphs.
Species 1: Acari Ixodidae Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick)
Keywords: Anti-tick Immunity, Mouse
Back to Display Presentations, Section D. Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Back to Posters
Back to The 2003 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition