ABSTRACT The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has performed a diagnosis of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) in ticks collected from humans. In April 2023, a tick was removed from the neck of a 5‐year‐old child in Sejong City and identified as a nymph of the genus Ixodes . However, it was morphologically different from previously reported Ixodes nipponensis and Ixodes persulcatus . This tick showed the following features: Coxa I with a long internal spur and a short triangular external spur; Coxae II–IV each with distinct, subequal external spurs; and Coxa II with a rudimentary internal spur. Based on molecular identification with 16S rRNA, 12S rRNA, and the mitochondrial Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) gene markers, the sequences shared 99.7%, 100.0%, and 99.9% identity, respectively, with Ixodes columnae sequences identified as a new species from Japan in 1992. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to identify I. columnae . Major tick‐borne pathogens, including SFTSV, Anaplasma , Ehrlichia , Rickettsia , and Borrelia , were not detected in this specimen. Further research is needed to investigate morphological characteristics based on taxonomy and geographic distribution in the ROK.
Park et al. (2026) studied this question.