Dermacentor (Indocentor) Auratus (Acari: Ixodoidea: Ixodidae): Hosts, Distribution, and Medical Importance in Tropical Asia12

Data are recorded for 1917 adult and 254 immature Dermacentor (Indocentor) auratus from primary and secondary forests, generally below 400 m altitude, in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma (including type material), Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malay Peninsula, and Indonesia (Sumatra). The distribution of this species apparently centers in the Indian Subregion. From Burma to the Pacific, tick-infested areas and densities appear to diminish. The Wild Pig, Sus scrofa sspp., is a major host of adults, which also parasitize the domestic pig, bear, rhinoceros, deer, and possibly the python. Immatures feed chiefly on Rattus spp. and carnivores (badgers, civets, mongooses, cats, leopards, tigers); other records are from monkeys, squirrels, and the tree shrew, hare, porcupine, rhinoceros, deer, and Nilgai Bull. Jungle fowl, domestic chickens, and the Wild Pig are seldom infested by immatures. Nymphs frequently parasitize man and can cause debilitating pain and possibly tick paralysis. This tick, abundant in Kyasanur Forest disease foci, is an efficient experimental vector of the Flavivirus agent of this Indian disease. Dermacentor (I.) auratus is also infected by Lanjan virus and has been found to carry a toxoplasma organism associated with a poorly characterized, severe, sometimes fatal hemorrhagic disease of man in the eastern Himalayan foothills. The role of D. (I.) auratus as a vector of rickettsiae is uncertain.