Known and potential ticks and tick-borne pathogens of Micronesia

Ticks have long been known to be the vectors of diseases, to both humans and animals. Yet very little work has been done regarding tick species found in Micronesia, and much of that is now decades old. Many parts of Micronesia have long undergone considerable change by outside influences and hence the natural and social environments have undergone major upheavals. Ticks as vectors of veterinary disease have long been documented in Micronesia, but ticks connected with human disease are often presumed not to exist. Hence another look would seem justified. This paper provides an initial review of information on tick species reported from Micronesia. Some diseases that such ticks transmit are presented, along with some hypothetical consideration of other diseases potentially associated with ticks of Micronesia. As this information on the ecology of ticks in Micronesia and the environments and circumstances allowing for the possibility of transmission of disease to humans come together, there emerges an intriguing picture of an often-overlooked part of the environment in which humans live in Micronesia.