Additional Two Case Studies of Human Infestation with Hard Tick (Acarina: Ixodidae) Found in Okayama, Japan

Two cases of human infestation with hard tick from Okayama Prefecture are additionally reported. Case 1 : On April 18th, 1990, the hard tick bite was found on the skin surface of right occipital region of 3-year-old boy living in Okayama City, Japan. The removed tick body (idiosoma) measured about 3.0 mm in length and 2.0 mm in maximum width. On acarological observations, the tick was identified as an adult female of Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901 based on the morphology of capitulum, scutum, coxae, internal and external spurs and spiracular plates. Case 2 : On June 26th, 1990, the hard tick bite was found on the: skin surface of left shoulder region of 66-year-old woman residing in Soja City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The collected tick body measured about 5.5 mm in length and 4.0 mm in maximum width without capitulum. The tick was identified as an adult female of Ixodes nipponensis Kitaoka et Saito, 1967. The tick bites were thought to have been occurred in hilly area (Case 1) and in a vacant house (Case 2), and none of systemic symptomes other than the tick bite wounds was recognized. To our best knowledge, the present report is 12th and 13th cases infested with hard tick in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Details with bibliographical data in the prefecture are reported