Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C E Hopla.
A 24-mo study of the laboratory life cycle of the tick Ixodes woodi Bishopp was conducted. No other such study of any species in the subgenus Ixodiopsis Filippova has been reported. Three generations of I. woodi were examined. Larvae and nymphs fed for an average of 4 d; approximately 8-9 d were required for females to engorge. Females laid approximately 900 eggs that required an average of 37.33 d to hatch.
The authors present an introductory overview of the principal groups of ectoparasites (flukes, leeches, crustaceans, insects, arachnids, lampreys and vampire bats) associated with domestic animals. Currently-accepted higher-level classifications are outlined for these parasites. Almost all significant ectoparasites of domestic animals are invertebrates, the majority being arthropods (crustaceans, insects and arachnids). Some of these ectoparasites are of particular importance as vectors of pathogens. Many ectoparasite species are host-specific, and vector species typically transmit characteristic pathogens.
Approximately 250 isolates of a newly recognized virus, related to western equine encephalitis virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus), were obtained from cimicid bugs, Oeciacus vicarius; Cliff Swallows, Hirundo pyrrhonata; and House Sparrows, Passer domesticus in a study area in west-central Oklahoma at Buggy Creek and Caddo Canyons. Antigenicity of the virus strains varied slightly from isolate to isolate. This paper summarizes the ecology of the area by describing in general the flora and fauna there.
The larva and nymph of Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) baergi Cooley & Kohls are described for the first time. This tick has been collected only in the United States on cliff swallows, Hirundo pyrrhonota, in their nests, or in adjacent habitats. To date, it has been reported from Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. Brief notes on the synchronization of the life cycle of I. baergi with that of its host are included.
Eight species of small mammals were evaluated as potential hosts for American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), in an upland, tallgrass prairie study site in central Oklahoma. Only hispid cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus, and deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, were found to be important hosts for immature D. variabilis. Although D. varibilis larvae and nymphs frequently infested both cotton rats and deer mice, cotton rats were the most important host species for both immature stages in the study area. Cotton rats constituted 63.2% of the total 530 small mammals captured and were hosts to 85.2% of all larvae and 88.7% of all nymphs. Deer mice accounted for 19.8% of all small mammals captured and were hosts for 14.5% of the larvae and 10.8% of the nymphs recovered. The remaining small mammal species were hosts for less than 1% of the immature ticks collected. Larval infestations peaked during summer, whereas summer and spring peaks were noted for the nymphal infestations. The relative importance of cotton rats and deer mice as hosts for immature ticks could be largely, but not completely, explained by cotton rats being more than three times as abundant as deer mice. Attachment site data indicated that differences in grooming behavior also might be partially responsible for the larger infestations observed on cotton rats. Other possible ecological and behavioral explanations of the heavy infestations observed on cotton rats are discussed.
Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord) were susceptible to infection with Rickettsia rickettsii Wolbach under laboratory conditions and were capable of serving as sources for infecting ticks with rickettsiae. Cotton rats developed rickettsemias that could be detected for as long as 6 h following intraperitoneal inoculation of 10(5) plaque-forming units (PFUs) of R. rickettsii (Morgan strain). An estimate of the median infectious dose (ID50) was made by inoculating six groups (eight animals per group) with serial dilutions of 10(1) to 10(6) PFUs. In this experiment, cotton rats became infected after exposure to relatively few organisms (ID50 = 37 PFUs). None of the 48 cotton rats succumbed to infection, and only 6 of the 48 rats failed to seroconvert. Dermacentor variabilis (Say) larvae were fed on rickettsemic cotton rats to determine whether this species could serve as a source for infecting ticks with R. rickettsii. A small percentage (0.9-3.0%) of larval ticks that fed on three of the four cotton rats had R. rickettsii in their tissues when examined as nymphs. A fourth cotton rat died 7 d after inoculation with R. rickettsii and infected a much higher percentage of ticks (64.0%) than the other three animals.
In this study, 20 laboratory reared Onychomys leucogaster from a parental population that is naturally exposed to plague were each fed a white mouse that had been inoculated with Yersinia pestis. Three of the 20 O. leucogaster died, four survived with antibody titers against Y. pestis and 13 survived with no titer against Y. pestis. In contrast, when 20 O. leucogaster from a plague naive parental population were fed infected prey, seven died and 13 survived with no antibody titer against Y. pestis. Our results suggest another means by which O. leucogaster from populations that are naturally exposed to plague may acquire the disease.
The laboratory-born progeny from two geographically distant populations of northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster) were challenged with Yersinia pestis to determine their relative susceptibilities to plague. One of the O. leucogaster populations was associated with a known epizootic focus of the disease and was found to be nearly 2,000 times more resistant to mortality than were members of another population from an area historically free of plague. The ecology and omnivorous behavior of O. leucogaster appears to promote strong selection for resistance to plague in areas where they are naturally exposed.