Parasitol Res (2007) 101 (Suppl 2):S163–S166 DOI 10.1007/s00436-007-0694-5
ORIGINAL PAPER
Geographical distribution of ticks in Turkey Levent Aydin & Serkan Bakirci
# Springer-Verlag 2007
Abstract Turkey’s tick fauna is composed of about 32 species in two families and ten genera in mammals, reptiles, and birds. The ticks of veterinary significance in the family Ixodidae comprise seven genera with 28 different species. Ixodes spp. are mostly seen in northern Turkey. It is likely that the high rainfall and the intensive forest in this area may contribute to this observation. To date, the following species have been found to be sporadically present: Amblyomma variegatum in Hatay province (border to Syria), Boophilus kohlsi in southeastern Turkey (border of Syria), Ornithodorus in Central and East Anatolia, and Otobius megnini in East Anatolia (Malatya Province). Ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Boophilus, Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, and Argas are widespread throughout Anatolia. Thus, their role in the epidemiology of important human and livestock diseases such as Crimean– Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lyme disease, and diseases caused by hemoparasites needs to be examined in greater detail.
Introduction Turkey has a total area of 81.5 million ha and is bordered by the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, and the Aegean Sea in the west. The total length of L. Aydin (*) Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Uludağ University, 16059 Görükle/Bursa, Turkey e-mail:
[email protected] S. Bakirci Department of Parasitology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, 09100 Aydin, Turkey
land borders is 2627 km, and it shares boundaries with Greece (206 km) and Bulgaria (240 km) in the Northwest, Georgia (252 km), Armenia (268 km), and Azerbaijan (9 km) in the northeast, Iran (499 km) in the east, and Iraq (331 km) and Syria (822 km) in the southeast. The territory of Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces. Turkey has significant livestock resources. In spite of the generally decreasing numbers, total production figures have remained constant, indicating an improved productivity per animal. The numbers of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and poultry have been given from 2000 to 2004 to be 10,069,346, 103,900, 25,201,155, 6,609,937, and 296,876,000, respectively (Anonymous b 2004). Ticks are among the most important vectors of diseases affecting both humans and animals worldwide. There are more than 850 species recognized with approximately 180 in the family Argasidae (soft ticks) and the others in the family Ixodidae (hard ticks; Keirans 1992; Wall and Shearer 2001). They feed exclusively on blood causing direct damage because of paralyses (Kurtpınar 1960) and toxicoses, irritation, and allergy and contribute to a general loss of condition resulting in significant economic losses. Ticks transmit a number of protozoan, bacterial, helminth, rickettsial, and viral pathogens to humans and animals in Turkey (Göksu and Tüzer 1981; Güralp 1981; Karaer et al. 1997). In Turkey, tick-borne protozoan parasites (Theileria and Babesia spp.) constitute major health and management problems of cattle and small ruminants (Dumanlı 1987; Mimioğlu et al. 1969; Karaer 1985; Karaer et al. 1997). Some tick species transmit a number of zoonotic diseases such as Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Thus, between 1 January and 30 June 2006, 323 individuals were investigated for virus infection in Turkey (The Ministery of Health of Turkey 2007).
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Fig. 1 Geographic regions of Turkey
Turkey’s tick fauna contains about 32 species, which are integrated in two families and classified in ten genera infesting mammals, reptiles, and birds (Aydın 2000; Hoffman et al. 1971; Karaer et al. 1997; Kurtpınar 1954; Merdivenci 1969; Oytun 1947, 1961). The ticks of veterinary significance in the family Ixodidae and Argasidae found in Turkey are as follows: Ixodes—Ixodes ricinus,
Ixodes hexagonus; Amblyomma—Amblyomma variegatum; Haemaphysalis–Haemaphysalis parva, Haemaphysalis punctata, Haemaphysalis sulcata, Haemaphysalis inermis, Haemaphysalis concinna, Haemaphysalis numidiana; Hyalomma–Hyalomma aegyptium, Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum, Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum, Hyalomma marginatum, Hyalomma detritum, Hyalomma dromedarii;
Table 1 Tick fauna according to geographical areas in Turkey Tick
Ixodes hexagonus Ixodes ricinus Boophilus kohlsi Rhipicephalus annulatus Rhipicephalus bursa Rhipicephalus sanguineus Rhipicephalus turanicus Dermacentor marginatus Dermacentor niveus Hyalomma aegyptium Hyalomma a. anatolicum Hyalomma a. excavatum Hyalomma detritum Hyalomma dromedarii Hyalomma marginatum Haemaphysalis concinna Haemaphysalis inermis Haemaphysalis numidiana Haemaphysalis parva Haemaphysalis punctata Haemaphysalis sulcata Amblyomma variegatum Argas persicus Argas reflexus Ornithodoros lahorensis Otobius megnini
Geographical region Marmara
Aegean
Mediterranean
X X
X
X
X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X
Central Anatolia
Black Sea
East Anatolia
X
X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
X X X
X
X X X
X X X
X X X
X X X
X
X X X X
X
X
Southeast Anatolia
X X X X X X X X X X X
X
X
Parasitol Res (2007) 101 (Suppl 2):S163–S166
Rhipicephalinae (subfamilies)—Boophilus, Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus (Rhipicephalus) annulatus, Boophilus kohlsi, Dermacentor marginatus, Dermacentor niveus, Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus turanicus; Ornithodoros—Ornithodoros lahorensis; Argas—Argas persicus, Argas reflexus; Otobius—Otobius megnini.
Geographical distribution The geographical regions of Turkey are depicted in Fig. 1. The Marmara Region, around the Sea of Marmara, is characterized by moderate climate with an average temperature of 4°C in winter and 27°C in summer; in winter the temperature can drop below zero. In Western Anatolia (Aegean Region), there is a mild Mediterranean climate with average temperatures of 9°C in winter and 29°C in summer. The eastern part is very cold. On the southern coast of Anatolia (Mediterranean Region) the same climate can be found as in the Aegean region. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland (Taurus). Winters are bitterly cold with frequent, heavy snowfall. The Anatolian Plateau (Central Anatolia) is much more subject to extremes than are the coastal areas. Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Because of Central Anatolia’s geographical conditions, one cannot speak about a general overall climate. The driest region is the Konya Plateu in summer. The Black Sea coast (Black Sea Region) receives the greatest amount of rainfall. The eastern part receives 2,200 mm annually and is the only region of Turkey that receives rainfall throughout the year. The climate in the Black Sea area is wet, warm, and humid (summer 23°C, winter 7°C). In the Eastern region of Anatolia (East Anatolia), the elevation of mountains exceeds 2,500– 3,000 m. Northern Black Sea Mountains and Caucasian Mountains hold the rain clouds, and therefore the area is affected by the continental climate with long and very cold winters. In Southeastern Anatolia (Southeast Anatolia region), there are long hard winters where year after year snow lies on the ground from November until early April apart from Urfa, Gaziantep, Mardin, and Diyarbakır province. The eastern part of this region is characterized by highlands and mountains. The border to the Syrian provinces are warm and constitute a semidesert area. Tick fauna recorded in the different geographical regions is summarized in Table 1 (Akdemir 2002; Arslan et al. 1999; Aydın 2000; Aydın et al. 2002; Dumanlı 1983; Efil 1999; Güler et al. 1993; Güler 1982; Göksu 1967; Karaer 1983; Hoffman et al. 1971; Hoogstraal 1959; Khan 1971; Kurtpınar 1954; Merdivenci 1969; Mimioğlu 1973; Mimioğlu and Yarar 1961; Nemenz 1967, Oytun 1947, Özer and Aydın
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1996; Sayın and Dumanlı 1982; Taşçı 1989; Yay et al. 2004; Yukarı and Umur 2002; Zeybek and Kalkan 1984).
Conclusion Ixodes spp. are mostly seen in Northern Turkey. It is likely that the high rainfall and the intensive forest in this area may contribute to this observation. To date, the following species have been found to be sporadic: A. varigeatum in Hatay province (border to Syria), B. kohlsi in Southeastern Turkey (border of Syria), Ornithodorus in Central and East Anatolia, and Otobius megnini found in East Anatolia (Malatya Province). Ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Boophilus, Dermacentor, and Rhipicephalus are widespread throughout Anatolia. The main hosts susceptible to tick-borne diseases in Turkey are cattle, sheep, horses, and dogs. Babesiosis, theileriosis, and ehrlichiosis are endemic in West, Central, and East Anatolia. Nowadays, CCHF and Lyme disease are very important in Turkey. In the future, global warming will affect Turkey’s climatic conditions and habitats, and new tick species and tick-borne diseases are anticipated to spread into Turkey. Thus, the role of ticks in the epidemiology of important human and livestock diseases such as CCHF, Lyme disease (Akdis et al. 1992), and other diseases caused by hemoparasites needs to be examined in greater detail. Acknowledgements This study was funded in part by the EUcoordinated action ICTTD-3 (contract no. IC18-CT95-0009).
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