Volume 18, Number 12—December 2012
Research
Reservoir Competence of Wildlife Host Species for Babesia microti
Table 1
Host species tested for Babesia microti reservoir competence, southeastern New York, USA, 2008–2010*
Host species | Common name | No. hosts tested | No. ticks tested | Mean no. ticks sampled per host (range) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mammals | ||||
Blarina brevicauda |
Northern short-tailed shrew | 28 | 534 | 19.1 (12–25) |
Didelphis virginiana |
Virginia opossum | 24 | 464 | 19.3 (11–25) |
Glaucomys volans |
Northern flying squirrel | 5 | 84 | 16.8 (6–25) |
Mephitis mephitis |
Striped skunk | 2 | 31 | 15.5 (10–21) |
Peromyscus leucopus |
White-footed mouse | 17 | 308 | 18.1 (11–25) |
Procyon lotor |
Raccoon | 21 | 396 | 18.9 (10–25) |
Sciurus carolinensis |
Eastern gray squirrel | 18 | 333 | 18.5 (10–25) |
Sorex cinereus |
Masked shrew | 6 | 41 | 6.8 (4–10) |
Tamias striatus |
Eastern chipmunk | 15 | 245 | 16.3 (10–25) |
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus |
Eastern red squirrel | 15 | 295 | 19.7 (11–25) |
Birds | ||||
Catharus fuscescens |
Veery | 15 | 310 | 20.7 (10–25) |
Dumetella carolinensis |
Gray catbird | 13 | 240 | 18.5 (10–24) |
Hylocichla mustelina |
Wood thrush | 18 | 318 | 17.7 (10–25) |
Turdus migratorius |
American robin | 17 | 293 | 17.2 (8–23) |
*Number of ticks tested per host can include samples from either natural tick loads or experimental infestations and are not representative of total tick loads.