Immunomodulation of host responses to ectoparasite infestation--an overview.

Immune reactivity stimulated by ectoparasites and other arthropods has received increased attention in recent years. It is clear that a broad range of host responses are elicited, and immune effector mechanisms appear to be active in limiting infestation with blood-feeding arthropods. Host immune responsiveness appears to be altered as a consequence of infestation by certain arthropods, and the impact of these alterations on vector-borne pathogen transmission remains to be determined. Successful techniques have been developed by a number of investigators for the artificial induction of resistance to blood-feeding arthropods. These areas are examined in this paper.