Part of working in a Microbiology Lab can include the identification of submitted arthropods. Though not extremely common, we get probably about two a month submitted for identification. Of course this number fluctuates seasonally and with the weather conditions. Here up in the Northeast part of the United States we have our usual suspects being submitted for identification. But every now and then we get a parasitic arthropod that is not so common to our geographic area.
Most technologists have an aversion to performing identifications on arthropods submitted to the lab. At least in my experience. And I guess the fear of having one crawling on you is a bit disconcerting. I tend to have a particular respect, but not fear of, Sarcoptes scabiei, the causative agent of scabies. They are so small (0.2-0.45 um) that I tend to imagine them escaping and possibly finding their way on me without me noticing. It doesn’t matter that I have the proper PPE on, it’s just an anxiety that I typically have when identifying them . And so out of this personal anxiety I can relate to others anxieties over the handling and identification of arthropods. As a result the identification of arthropods is relegated to myself and the Microbiology Laboratory Director.
One day in the lab was particularly interesting because one of the Pathologists came in with an arthropod for identification. He had picked it up while hiking with his dog and found it attached to him while taking a shower. He was concerned about the chances of acquiring Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, or Babesiosis. All valid concerns considering that all three are endemic in the Northeastern United States and all three are transmitted by a particular genus/species of tick found in the Northeastern United States. An identification of the tick along with a description of it’s level of engorgement, as well as the reporting of whether it’s mouthparts are intact, are useful parts of the final identification report that will determine the likely hood of possible disease transmission and whether preventive antibiotic prophylaxis is warranted.
Below is a image of the arthropod submitted for identification.
The questions for you are as follows:
- What is the identification of the arthropod?
- What is the unique identifying characteristic of this arthropod?
- What is the geographic distribution of this arthropod in the United States?
- What diseases if any is this arthropod responsible for transmitting?
Lets see how good you are at making the identification.