[The use of cryopreserved swine blood for in vitro feeding of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata].

Abstract

Porcine stored blood has been used in the in vitro feeding of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata through a Parafilm membrane. The efficiency of the feeding decreased after storage of 5 weeks by -20 degrees C. Through addition of 10(-3) M ATP/l the feeding results with frozen blood for duration of storage up to 200 days well agreed with the results of feeding tests with fresh porcine blood: The nymphs (N)1-3 fed the 4-5fold, the N4-6 the 2.7fold and the adults (A) the 1.9fold of their body weight. The feeding rate was 98.6% (N1-3); 92.7% (N4-5) and 81.9% (A). The mortality rate was under 10%. Females laid 130 eggs after blood meal.