| Summary: | A SINGLE, fully engorged female Hyalomma lusitanicum tick was imported into the UK on a dog recently returned from Portugal during May 2016 and submitted to Public Health England's Tick Surveillance Scheme (TSS). H lusitanicum exists in a narrow geographical range from Portugal to Sicily (Estrada-Peña and others 2012), where its distribution is restricted due to its strict biotic niche (Estrada-Peña and Venzal 2007). Immature stages parasitise wildlife (Santos-Silva and others 2011) and adults are mostly associated with domestic and wild ungulates (Valcárcel and others 2015). However, records on dogs have been reported (Apanaskevich and others 2008), including in Portugal where biting of humans by this species has also been reported (Santos-Silva and others 2011)… (…)
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