HUMAN TICK BITE RECORDS IN A UNITED-STATES-AIR-FORCE POPULATION, 1989-1992 - IMPLICATIONS FOR TICK-BORNE DISEASE RISK

Reports of tick parasitism were recorded for US Air Force personnel (n = 410) from 30 states and the District of Columbia. Of 462 ticks invo lved in attacks on people, the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, a nd the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, were the most common species represented (34.2% and 34.0%, respectively). Two vectors of L yme disease, bodes pacificus and bodes scapularis (including the forme r Ixodes dammini) also parasitized people but were less common (1.7% a nd 9.1%, respectively). In addition, 34 (7.3%) brown dog ticks, Rhipic ephalus sanguineus, were identified from human hosts. Most ticks submi tted for identification were adults (66.5%) and nymphs (29.1%). Larvae were submitted infrequently (< 5%). Of those specimens examined for f eeding status, 50.0% had blood-fed to some degree. Patients from which ticks were removed were predominantly male (56.8%) and ranged in age from 1 to 76 years with 55.3% (n = 152) being under 20 years. The head and neck area and the lower extremities were the most common sites of attachment by ticks (37.7% and 24.3%, respectively), but ticks were f ound attached on other areas of the body also, including the trunk, up per extremities, buttocks, and groin. Most ticks (65.5%) bit their vic tims during May, June, or July, but parasitism occurred during all mon ths of the year. Our data suggest that people from all age groups and from across the United States are vulnerable to parasitism by ticks an d, potentially, tick-borne diseases.