**4. Conclusion**

192 Current Topics in Tropical Medicine

**(n=3)** 

**Females Males Females Males** 

1.036±0.096 0.608±0.015 **49** 0.650±0.047 0.966±0.058 0.897±0.149 0.895±0.048 **50** 0.585±0.072 0.967±0.036 0.465±0.014 1.140±0.053 **51** 0.276±0.013 **1.75±0.025**  0.377±0.016 0.896±0.015 **52** 0.296±0.030 0.763±0.031 0.887±0.096 0.643±0.100 **53** 0.479±0.046 0.570±0.053 1.031±0.077 0.802±0.055 **54** 0.346±0.014 0.700±0.176 0.279±0.043 0.593±0.088 **55** 0.299±0.005 0.676±0.022 0.915±0.055 0.898±0.038 **56** 0.817±0.015 0.605±0.127 0.630±0.043 0.425±0.045 **58** 0.343±0.021 1.225±0.067 0.544±0.024 0.650±0.088 **59** 0.415±0.098 0.525±0.037 0.378±0.056 0.802±0.065 **60** 0.349±0.042 0.519±0.123 0.311±0.008 0.606±0.060 **61** 0.434±0.010 0.492±0.035 0.447±0.061 0.554±0.025 **62** 0.430±0.012 1.023±0.008 0.117±0.024 0.176±0.009 **63** 0.325±0.041 0.585±0.103 0.386±0.017 0.884±0.060 **64** 1.040±0.024 1.156±0.193 0.778±0.093 0.527±0.103 **65** 0.824±0.140 0.685±0.015 1.019±0.114 0.613±0.038 **66** 0.424±0.012 0.722±0.094 0.938±0.045 0.666±0.030 **67** 0.498±0.066 1.476±0.055 0.234±0.007 0.314±0.017 **68** 1.077±0.081 1.004±0.082 0.485±0.089 0.614±0.055 **69** 0.927±0.068 0.800±0.172 0.671±0.048 0.466±0.045 **70** 0.234±0.042 0.461±0.107 0.473±0.055 0.211±0.026 **71** 0.323±0.014 0.891±0.200 0.383±0.055 0.250±0.058 **72** 0.876±0.030 0.446±0.130 0.389±0.041 0.555±0.082 **73** 0.524±0.060 ND 0.475±0.009 0.167±0.032 **74** 0.897±0.100 1.182±0.304 0.676±0.051 0.306±0.067 **76** 0.786±0.016 0.516±0.045 0.437±0.005 0.810±0.025 **77** 0.888±0.074 0.922±0.036 0.892±0.038 0.206±0.060 **79** 0.345±0.027 0.856±0.035 0.943±0.017 0.148±0.053 **80** 0.904±0.017 1.408±0.144 1.003±0.109 0.957±0.164 **81** 0.670±0.017 0.826±0.076 0.160±0.057 0.499±0.046 **82** 0.340±0.062 0.866±0.085 0.382±0.016 0.943±0.076 **83** 0.398±0.042 0.985±0.074 0.989±0.045 1.093±0.077 **84** 0.786±0.016 0.578±0.032 0.728±0.025 1.400±0.080 **85** 0.425±0.010 ND 0.224±0.055 1.306±0.080 **86** 0.212±0.007 0.777±0.060 0.752±0.067 0.970±0.136 **87** 0.322±0.061 0.671±0.016 0.699±0.018 0.506±0.052 **89** 1.013±0.117 0.926±0.103 0.556±0.019 1.043±0.228 **90** 0.408±0.091 0.950±0.176 0.238±0.013 0.928±0.155 **91** 0.649±0.062 0.946±0.066 0.389±0.029 1.012±0.147 **92** 0.891±0.016 0.966±0.117 0.894±0.084 1.184±0.065 **93** 0.574±0.084 1.054±0.056 0.785±0.089 1.320±0.077 **94** 0.218±0.057 0.658±0.035 0.476±0.011 1.382±0.120 **95** 0.609±0.055 1.053±0.127 0.528±0.033 0.857±0.106 **96** 0.438±0.055 1.462±0.250 **Control sera ♀ (n=16)** 0.570±0.045 **Control sera ♂ (n=18)** 0.780±0.194

**IgG (Χ±SE)** 

**IgG (Χ±SE) Sera (nº)**

Table 3. Results of the general population antibodies (IgG) against *Hyalomma lusitanicum* 

**Sera (nº) (n=3)** 

male and female antigens

Burgos is a province of the inner north western region of the Iberian Peninsula. Its climate is continental with cold dry winters and mild summers. Animal husbandry is a very important economical source and livestock parasitism of ticks is common in the region. *Hyalomma* spp. ticks are distributed in Africa, the Mediterranean climatic zone of southern Europe, and in Asia.

It is known that ticks are important pets and livestock transmitting tick-borrne diseases. In this sense, though humans are not the preferred hosts of *Hyalomma* ticks and are infrequently bitten in comparison to livestock, sporadic infection of people is usually caused by *Hyalomma* ticks.

In fact, Crimea-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever transmitted by *Hyalomma* spp occurs sporadically throughout many areas of Africa, Asia and Europe, but can cause mortality (Estrada-Peña & Jongejan., 1999). Recently a new group of spotted fever has been isolated from *Hyalomma marginatum marginatum* ticks in Morocco (Beati et al., 1997). In Europe have been detected genotipically similar organisms in Portugal (Beati et al., 1995), Croatia (Punda-Polic et al., 2002), Corsica (Matsumoto et al., 2004), Germany (Rumer et al., 2011) and in Spain (Fernández-Soto et al., 2003).

*Hyalomma lusitanicum* is called perinneal specie which is present on cattle year around. These parasitize domestic and wild animals and birds, and are usually abundant in semiarid zones. Its distribution reflects peaks in May-June and October that corresponds to the periods of maximum activity of adults (Habela et al., 1999), but in winter specimens (males and females) remain fixed on their host without feeding (Yousfi-Monod & Aeschliman., 1986). Adult *Hyalomma* actively run out from their resting sites when a host approaches. Cattle, rabbits, hares and deer which are the hosts of *Hyalomma lusitanicum* are well represented in the studied region.

The frequency with which different tick species bite humans varies significantly from one zone to another and much it depends on the likelihood of humans entering their biotope (human contact with ticks for professional and recreational activities) and the tick affinity for humans. Climatic changes could be probable implicated in the northern establishment of ticks, but perhaps would be more dependent on the introduction of adult females on wild and domestic ruminants due to the uncontrolled movement of livestock as have been proposed recently Rumer et al., (2011) in which the only documented *Hyalomma* spp. tick in Germany was found on a human in the southern part of the country (Lake Constance area) in May 2006, but they did not ruled out the tick transportation from Spain.

However it is not easy to detect that a person has been bitten by a tick, because people may confuse the bite ticks or other arthropods that might be no elicit antibody response.

Ticks can inoculate a variety of active molecules during feeding that can block pain, reduce inflammation and suppress or modulate innate and specific acquired immune defences (Brossard & Wikel., 2004). But the duration of the tick attachment may be insufficient to allow for adequate amount of saliva to elicit a detectable antibody response. Sometimes happens that is necessary several tick exposures before the antibody response will be strongly enough to be detected by ELISA. Ticks deposit saliva at the site of their attachment

Screening of the Prevalence of Antibodies to the Tick

measures to prevent infection.

help in developing this study.

**5. Acknowledgment** 

4462.

0269-283X.

0020-7713.

0253-1933.

ISSN 0003-2697.

792, ISSN 0022-2585.

Vol. 36, pp. 507-522, ISSN 0928-4249.

**6. References** 

*Hyalomma lusitanicum* in a Province of Northern Spain 195

In this sense, we consider it would be very interesting to educate primary care physicians in these areas, to be able to identify ticks and how clinicians should deal with patients who have been bitten by ticks, because it would be very interesting to discover potential transmitters of both old and new diseases. It is necessary to develop studies in which ticks removed from the patients must be directly preserved in ethanol and identified because the knowledge about tick species that are susceptible of parasitizing humans is essential for assessing the risks for people who become infected, we can detect pathogens and design

We want to give thanks to Helga Barrios Vidal and Gema Cervantes Uría for their grateful

Aljamali ,M.N.; Ramakrishnan, V.G.; Weng, H.; Tucker, J.S.; Sauer, J.R & Essenberg

Barandika, J.F.; Berriatua, E.; Barral, M.; Juste, R.A.; Anda, P & García-Pérez, A.L. (2006).

Beati, L.; Kelly, P.J.; Matthewman, L.A.; Mason, P.R. & Raoult, D. (1995). Prevalence of

Beati, L.; Meskini, M.; Thiers, B. & Raoult, D. (1997). *Rickettsia aeschlimann*ii sp. nov., a new

Bengis, R.G.; Leighton, F,A.; Fischer, J.R.; Artois, M.; Mörner, T.& Tate, C.M. (2004).

Blancou, J.; Chomel, B.B.; Belotto, A. & Meslin, F.X. (2005). Emerging or re-emerging

Bradford, M. (1976). A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram of

R.C. (2009). Microarray analysis of gene expression changes in feeding female and male lone star ticks, *Amblyomma americanum* (L). *Archieves of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology*, Vol. 71, Nº 4 (August), pp. 236-253, ISSN 0739-

Risk factors associated with ixodid ticks species distributions in the Basque region in Spain. *Medical and Veterinary Entomology*, Vol. 20, Nº 2 (June), pp 177-188, ISSN

rickettsia-like organisms and spotted fever group rickettsiae inticks (*Acari: Ixodidae*) from Zimbabwe. *Journal of Medical Entomology*, Vol. 32, Nº 6 (November), pp. 787-

spotted fever group rickettsia associated with *Hyalomma marginatum ticks*. *International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology*, Vol. 47, Nº 2 (April), pp. 548-554, ISSN

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to a host in order to inhibit haemostasis, inflammation and innate and adaptive immune responses but ticks are able to modulate their host's local haemostatic reactions (Carvalho et al., 2010)

As happens with other ticks in which salivary gland proteins are immunogenic (Sanders et al., 1996), our results have shown that *H. lusitanicum* has proteins (antigens) that stimulate the production of immunoglobulins in humans as well as the finding of a significant high prevalence in bitten patients by ticks respect to the control group (see in Tables 1 and 2). It would be very interesting to conduct an epidemiological study, in those sera that have positive results, if at any time have had a history of febrile illness of unknown etiology with or without rash.

As occurs with other genus or species of ticks capable to induce high responses, *H. lusitanicum* could share antigens with other ticks. It is easy to found that antigens can cross react with the antigens of a closely related species. This fact has been observed in several studies that have realized cross-resistance studies between *Dermacentor andersoni* and *Dermacentor variabilis* (McTier et al., 1981), *Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum* and *Boophilus microplus* (Parmar et al., 1996), *H. a. anatolicum, Hyalomma dromedari* and *Boophilus microplus* (Kumar & Kondal., 1999) as well as between a series of other tick species (Brown & Askenase., 1984; Jaansen van Vuuren et al., 1992). In fact, the homology among several tick species suggests that possibly common antigen(s) may be suitable for a vaccine against some different ticks.

By other hand, though ticks are well known blood suckers, blood sources between males and females seem to be different and gene expressions in fedding males and females are also different (Aljamali et al., 2009). In fact the male blood meals may be digested and nutrients can be used for spermatogenesis. The host blood meal is necessary for egg production in female ticks (Sanders et al., 1996). As occurs with partially fed female *Ixodes ricinus* (Linnaeus, 1758), female and male *Amblyomma variegatum* (Fabricius, 1794) and *Rhipicephalus appendiculatus* Neumann, 1901 in which have been observed that exist species- and sex-specific differences in the effects of tick salivary gland antigens on human lymphocyte proliferation, our results, as can be seen in Table III, have demonstrated that exist differences in the human antibodies response against male and female *H. lusitanicum* antigens. This fact makes that both could be considered as susceptible to bite humans.

Since for each tick-borne disease there may be one or several vectors (Lane, 1994), perhaps this ixodid could be implicated as a vector susceptible of parasitizing humans. In this sense, other studies would in a future provide us about the frequency and which life cycle stages of this tick can infest humans as well as its role in the transmission of human pathogens as happened with those studies in which *Dermacentor marginatus* was recently demonstrated to be the vector in the transmission of *Rickettsia slovaca*, that causes the TIBOLA/DEBONEL disease in humans (Rehacek, 1984; Lakos., 1997; Raoult et al., 1997; Ibarra et al., 2006).

Until date, each tick species has preferred environmental conditions and biotopes that determine the geographical distribution of the ticks and the risk areas fro tick borne diseases, but day to day more research studies are going on in order to elucidate a higher diversity of ixodid tick species infesting humans potentially transmisors of underdiagnosed diseases.

In this sense, we consider it would be very interesting to educate primary care physicians in these areas, to be able to identify ticks and how clinicians should deal with patients who have been bitten by ticks, because it would be very interesting to discover potential transmitters of both old and new diseases. It is necessary to develop studies in which ticks removed from the patients must be directly preserved in ethanol and identified because the knowledge about tick species that are susceptible of parasitizing humans is essential for assessing the risks for people who become infected, we can detect pathogens and design measures to prevent infection.
