Study on Distribution of Arasid –ticks and their Infection to Borrelia Persica in Indoor Resting Places of Hamadan

In a faunestic study, to determine the frequency and distribution of soft ticks (Argasidae) in suberbs of Hamden city, 16 Villages were selected randomly from 12 rural districts. For village 10 places including five living room and five stables were adapted in different geographical directions (north, south, east, west & center). The specimens were gathered by handcatch method using a forceps within a constant period of time (about 30 minutes). In this study, totally 1780 specimens gathered and diagnosed using a (diagnostic) discriminative key. Subsequent to transferring them to parasitology department of Pasteur institute of IRAN among the four identified species (belonging to two genera Argas & Ornithoros) Argas persicus of the genus Argas included about 31.7% of all specimens and with relative density rate of 7.04 ticks per place showed a patchy distribution in same (6%) rural districts. In the genus Ornithodoros 66.5% of diagnosed specimens appeared to be O.lahorensis this species with the highest relative density (14-8 tick per place) displayed a wide distribution in most rural districts. O. canestrinii with 1.2% and O.tholozani with 0.6% ( of totall specimens) showed the lowest relative density, (0.28 tick per place) and (0.14 tick per place) respectively. Those two species showed a limited distribution in one third of villages. Inorther to investigate if the O.tholozani specimens were harbouring Borrelia spp. A suspention of crashed bodies ticks was inoculated to six susptible laboratory animals. All the blood smears taken after 10 days appeared be negative.