Nature conservation in the Republic of Korea (ROK), in addition the effects of global warming has increasingly changed Korea’s weather to a subtropical climate has resulted in increased populations of wild animals in association with their ectoparasites. Increased numbers of animal and bird hosts and warmer climate has resulted in higher populations of members of the Family Ixodidae (hard ticks), in addition to habitat and geographical distributions resulting from reforestation. There are; 6 Genera (Amblyomma, Boophilus, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Ixodes, Rhipcephalus) in the Family Ixodidae, and with 35 species. Studies in the ROK over the past 10 years has resulted in the recognition of 3 Genera of Ixodidae (Haemaphysalis, Ixodes, Amblyomma) and 14 species (H. longicornis, H. flava, H. japonica, H. phasiana, H. ornithophila, H. formosensis, Ixodes nipponensis, I. persulcatus, I. turdus, I. pomerantzevi, I. granulatus, I. vespertilionis, I. simplex, Amblyomma testudinarium). A number of tick-borne pathogens, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia (SFTS) virus, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus, Borrelia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Bartonella, Theileria and Babesia species, have been detected in ticks collected from the ROK. In addition to detecting these pathogens in zoonotic hosts, they have also been detected from pets, domestic animals, and humans. These pathogens often demonstrate vector and host-specificity, while affecting veterinary and medical health. The analysis of vector and pathogen distributions is crucial for the development of diseased mitigation strategies, requiring additional studies to determine the distributions of animal and bird hosts and vectors and associated pathogens.

Vector-borne diseases, including those transmitted by ticks, pose serious public health threats to US military populations, as well as military and civilian populations in the Republic of Korea. (1) From 2004-2010, a total of 54,495 ticks belonging to three genera and eight species [Haemaphysalis longicornis (33,242; 61.0%), H. flava (18,525; 34.0%), Ixodes nipponensis (2,420; 4.4%), H. phasiana (216, 0.4%), H. japonica (33; <0.1%), Amblyomma testudinarium (26; <0.1%), I. turdus (17; <0.1%), and I. persulcatus(16; <0.1%)] were collected by tick drag. (2) As part of the rodent-borne disease surveillance program, a total of 6,773 ticks belonging to two genera and four species were collected from small mammals at US military installations and training sites in Korea from 2004-2009. (3) In collaboration with Seoul National University, a total of 920 ticks, belonging to two genera and six species were collected from small-large mammals. (4) In addition, a total of 250 ticks belonging to two genera and five species were collected from migratory birds. (5) I. simplex and I. vespertilionis also were collected from limited numbers of bats. Additional collections from small-large mammals, migratory birds, bats, and other animals are needed to identify the geographical and host range of ticks and the associated pathogens they harbor. Furthermore, these data can be used to provide predictive emergence and distributions of ticks and their associated pathogens.

This paper describes a Plasma Assisted Debinding and Sintering (PADS) equipment, which has been designed to process Metal Injection Molded (MIM) components. The use of a hybrid system combining a glow discharge with a conventional heating system makes debinding and sintering of MIM components, in the same heating cycle, a feasible industrial process. Characteristics as density, carbon content and mechanical properties are similar to traditionally processed MIM materials. The reduction of energy and gas consumption and shorter lead-times are economic advantages of PADS system. The clean environment of PADS is also an ecological advantage.