Abstract
Extract
Sir, — We wish to record the presence of the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus on a dog imported from Australia. This tick is mainly parasitic on dogs although on rare occasions it has been collected from non-canine hosts (Roberts, Citation1965). Experimentally it has been shown capable of transmitting a wide variety of serious diseases but its role as a natural vector of many of them is unknown. In Australia it has been demostrated as being naturally infected with Coxiella burnetii (Smith, Citation1942) and is recorded from all continents and some oceanic islands lying between latitudes 50°N and 36°S (Roberts, Citation1970). Auckland falls within this boundaries and therefore it is not unreasonable to suggest that R. sanguineus could become established in New Zealand.