During 1995-2002, Amblyomma americanum ticks were collected from selected sites in southern Indiana where cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME) and Lyme disease (LD) had been reported. The ticks were pooled and analyzed by PCR for evidence of infection with the human pathogen, Ehrlichia chaffeensis. Average minimum infection rates ranged from 1.6% to 4.9%, with rates at some individual sites exceeding 7%. Recently, nine genetic variants of E. chaffeensis were detected from six different sites. Ticks collected in 2002 analyzed for Borrelia lonestari, the agent associated with southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). Pools of ticks from sites in three southern Indiana counties were positive for this agent.
Species 1: Acari Ixodidae Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick)
Species 2: Rickettsiales Rickettsiaceae Ehrlichia chaffeensis
Species 3: Spirochaetales Spirochaetaceae Borrelia lonestari
Keywords: human monocytic ehrlichiosis
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