Ecological considerations in scrub typhus. 2. Vector species

Abstract

Certain features, characteristic of outbreaks of scrub typhus, can be explained by the behaviour of the chigger vectors which are remarkably hardy and can survive weeks of freezing or immersion in water. The established vectors are all species of the genus Leptotrombidium (Leptotrombidium), i.e., L. (L.) akamushi (Brumpt, 1910), L. (L.) deliense (Walch, 1922), L. (L.) pallidum (Nagayo et al., 1919), and L. (L.) scutellare (Nagayo et al., 1921). These chiggers (i.e. larval mites) infest a broad variety of birds and mammals, and tend to be found in clusters on certain specific sites on the host. However, the precise site for any species of mite varies with the host, and it is believed that the grooming habits of the infested animal account for this "site preference". The degree of infestation cannot validly be ascribed to the size of the host. L. (L.) pavlovskyi (Schluger, 1948), L. (L.) orientale (Schluger, 1948), L. (L.) arenicola Traub, 1960, and L. (L.) tosa (Sasa & Kowashima, 1951) are regarded as probable vectors. Other species, some belonging to other genera, are under suspicion in this regard.L. (L.) subintermedium (Jameson & Toshioka, 1954) and certain other chiggers were found in "ecological islands" in all montane habitats studied in West Pakistan, despite the intervening high mountains, broad rivers and belts of semi-desert. The infection-rate of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi in vector species in nature is believed to be low, and chiggers may be serving as reservoirs of infection and not just as vectors.