Seasonal activity of Haemaphysalis longicornis and Haemaphysalis flava (Acari: Ixodida), vectors of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus, and their SFTS virus harboring rates in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Abstract

Seasonal activity of ticks, including disease vectors of fatal severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus, was monitored using CO2-bait traps from April to November in 2019 and 2020 in a rural area in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Traps were deployed for 24 h once a month in four vegetation types: grassland, grave, mountain trail, and shrubs. A total of 4516 ticks were caught, all of which belong to the genus Haemaphysalis; larvae, nymphs, and adults were 41.9, 39.5, and 18.6%, respectively. The nymphs and adults belonged to two tick species, H. longicornis and H. flava, and H. longicornis was dominant, comprising 97.9% of the two stages collected. Larvae were identified only to the genus level due to difficulty of morphological distinction between species. For H. longicornis, nymph numbers peaked between April and June, followed by adults between June and July. Haemaphysalis larvae showed clear peaks in August. In general, H. longicornis nymphs and adults were most abundant in grassland, whereas larvae were so in the grave area. Collected ticks were pooled and subjected to PCR analysis to estimate SFTS virus harboring rate. In 2019, only one SFTS virus-positive sample was detected in June. However, a total of 18 SFTS-virus positive samples were detected from August to October in 2020.