DETECTION OF BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI FROM TICKS (ACARI) IN HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA

From May 1992 to August 1993, 1,196 ticks were collected by flagging v egetation and from domestic animals in Chengde, Zhangjiakou, Shijiazhu ang, and Handan districts of Hebei Province. Of those ticks collected, 954 were Haemaphysalis japonicum Warburton and H. longicornis Neumann , 205 were Ixodes persulcatus Schulze, and 37 were Dermacentor silvaru m Olenev. Four strains of Borrelia burgdorferi were isolated from 135 I. persulcatus collected in Weichang and Zhuolu counties. Three of 574 Haemaphysalis spp. (collected in Laishui, Pingshan, and Xinglong coun ties) were positive for B. burgdorferi by direct immunofluorescent ass ay. One of 24 H. japonicum and 1 of 1 I. persulcatus (collected in Zhu olu) were positive for B. burgdorferi by polymerase chain reaction. Th is is the Ist report of a B. burgdorferi isolation from H. japonicum.