A case of human tick bite by a nymphal tick, Haemaphysalis hystricis (Acari: Ixodidae), in Japan

Abstract

We describe a case of human tick bite by a nymphal tick, Haemaphysalis hystricis. The tick was found on the skin at the inner side of the right brachium in a 35-year-old Japanese woman, who had gone to a Yaeyama palm tree Satakentia liukiuensis forest on Ishigaki-jima, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. The tick was identified as a nymph of H. hystricis based on its morphological characteristics. This is the fourth case of a tick bite by H. hystricis and the second case by a nymph in Japan.