Ornithodoros turicata

{{Short description|Species of tick}}

{{Speciesbox

| image_caption=Ornithodoros turicata female

| image_alt=Ornithodoros turicata female

| genus = Ornithodoros

| species = turicata

| authority = (Dugès, 1876)

| image = Ornithodoros turicata - female.png

}}

Ornithodoros turicata, commonly referred to as the relapsing fever tick, is a soft tick found in the midwestern and southwestern United States. It is a known vector of Borrelia turicatae, a spirochete responsible for tick-borne relapsing fever in humans.{{cite journal |vauthors=Dworkin MS, Schwan TG, Anderson DE, Borchardt SM |title=Tick-borne relapsing fever |journal=Infect. Dis. Clin. North Am. |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=449–68, viii |year=2008 |pmid=18755384 |pmc=3725823 |doi=10.1016/j.idc.2008.03.006}}

Additionally, vector competence for the transmission of Leptospira pomona, the agent of canine jaundice, has been demonstrated in a laboratory setting.{{cite journal |last1=Burgdorfer |first1=Willy |year=1956 |title=The possible role of ticks as vectors of leptospirae. I. Transmission of Leptospira pomona by the argasid tick, Ornithodoros turicata, and the persistence of this organism in its tissues

|journal=Experimental Parasitology |volume=5 |issue=6 |pages=571–579 |pmid=13375683 |doi=10.1016/0014-4894(56)90030-3}}