Detailed Infestation Spectrums About Biological Stages of Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose A comprehensive systematic meta-analysis review which deals with the degrees and trends of human infestation by biological stages of ticks, the degrees and trends of human infestation by biological stages of ticks in rural and urban areas, the infestation scale of tick attachment sites in body parts of humans, and the degrees of tick infestation in human age groups is critical. Therefore, this systematic meta-analysis review summarizes the above-detailed human infestation spectrums about biological stages of hard ticks. Methods After a preliminary review from 605 papers representing areas of the study objectives, 96 were selected for detailed human infestation spectrums of biological stages of hard ticks. Results In general, the results suggest that the adult ticks, and mostly females attack humans more than larval and nymphalid ones, and adult males, respectively. Unlike the trends of human infestation by larval and nymphalid stages of ticks, and the adult, male and female ticks which exhibited approximately a sharply decreasing trend, the global trend of human infestation by hard ticks exhibited approximately a sharply increasing trend over time. Ticks attack humans more in rural area than urban area. Also, the trends of human tick infestation in rural and urban areas exhibit, respectively, a sharp increase and decrease trends over time. Conclusions The majority of ticks mostly attach to human body trunk and extremity than head and neck, and genital area. Ticks attack human age groups of 0-9, 20-39, and 40-59 years more than those aged between 10 and 19 or older than 60 years.

Automated summary

The study found that adult ticks, especially females, attack humans more than larvae and nymphal ones, and adult males attack the least. The global trend of human infestation by hard ticks is sharply increasing. Ticks attack humans more in rural areas than urban areas, and the trends of tick infestation in rural and urban areas show a sharp increase and decrease, respectively.