A case of tick bite by a spontaneously retreated <i>Ixodes nipponensis</i>

Brief Communication


Korean J Parasitol. 1995 Sep;33(3):239-242. English. Published online Sep 20, 1995. http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1995.33.3.239
Copyright © 1995 by The Korean Society for Parasitology


A case of tick bite by a spontaneously retreated Ixodes nipponensis
B K Cho,¹H W Nam,²S Y Cho,^*² and W K Lee³
¹Department of Dermatology, Catholic University Medical College, Seoul 130-701, Korea.

Received August 11, 1995; Accepted August 30, 1995.
Abstract
A 58-year old housewife consulted us about 1 cm sized, dark-brownish, bean-like mass which was dropped spontaneously from indurated skin lesion on her abdomen. The mass was identified morphologically as an engorged female Ixodes nipponensis. Nine days earlier, she had an excursion collecting edible sprouts of wild grass. Spontaneous retreat has been unusual in clinical tick bites in Korea. Fourteen cases of tick bite described in the Korean literature were reviewed briefly in relation to Lyme borreliosis.

Figures


	Fig. 1 Puncture wound at the center of an induration on abdomen (A) and dark brownish, engorged female tick (B) retreated spontaneously from the lesion.


	Fig. 2 Ventral view of gnathosome showing hypostome with large strong denticles projected laterally which is one of the characteristic differential features of Ixodes nipponensis.


	Fig. 3 Arrangement of coxae I-IV in the present specimen. The coxa I showed much longer internal spur (In) than external spur.


	Fig. 4 Dorsal view of gnathosome showing wide distance between porous areas on basis capituli which in one of the characteristic features of Ixodes nipponensis.

Tables


	Table 1 Summary of the clinical findings of 14 cases of tick bites in Korea

References


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