Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from colombia, a review to its knowledge in the country

Abstract

Ticks are arthropods with significant impact on the economy of livestock and public health, due to losses generated in production, and their ability to transmit microorganisms. Despite the evidence of circulation of different tick species in the country, there are no updates concerning the variety of existing species, therefore, the authors of this manuscript offer a literature review on ticks from the Ixodidae family reported in Colombia including their geographical distribution, their hosts and the microorganisms they carry and might transmit in Colombia. In this manuscript, we described the presence in the country of different species of ticks of the genera Amblyomma, Ixodes, Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, and Dermacentor. The genus with the greatest variety was Amblyomma with 29 species, followed by Ixodes with 11 species, and of the genus Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus two species were reported for each. These species are distributed in most departments and a wide variety of hosts, including domestic, synanthropic and wild animals. Additionally, it was found that some reported ticks could play a role as potential vectors of various microorganisms that could affect public and veterinary health. We expect that this work will be a contribution to support tick research and the study of tick-borne agents in Colombia.