Approaches towards tick and tick-borne diseases control

Abstract

Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites of wild and domestic animals as well as humans, considered to be second worldwide to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases. Tick-borne diseases are responsible worldwide for great economic losses in terms of mortality and morbidity of livestock animals. This review concerns to the different tick and tick-parasites control methods having a major focus on vaccines. Control of tick infestations has been mainly based on the use of acaricides, a control measure with serious drawbacks, as responsible for the contamination of milk and meat products, as a selective factor for acaricideresistant ticks and as an environmental contaminant. Research on alternatives to the use of acaricides is strongly represented by tick vaccines considered a more cost-effective and environmentally safe strategy. Vaccines based on the Bm86 tick antigen were used in the fi rst commercially available cattle tick vaccines and showed good results in reducing tick numbers, affecting weight and reproductive performance of female ticks which resulted in reduction of cattle tick populations over time and consequently lower reduction of the pathogen agents they carry.

Febre Maculosa No Brasil: Situação Epidemiológica Atual E a Distribuição Geográfica De Carrapatos Em Cenários De Mudanças Climáticas

“…Para pessoas que precisam frequentar áreas sabidamente de transmissão ou com a presença de vetores, recomenda-se a utilização de roupas claras que facilitem a visualização dos carrapatos (Domingos et al, 2013;Butler et al, 2015). É indicado o uso de calça e camisa de manga longa, utilizando meias de cano alto, cobrindo a parte inferior da calça, podendo também ser utilizado uma fita adesiva na vedação das meias com a calça.…”

“…Dado o fato da FM envolver no seu ciclo de transmissão animais silvestres e ambientes naturais, o controle da doença é uma estratégia que deve ser analisada com bastante critério e orientada por um profissional capacitado (Domingos et al, 2013;Ministério da Saúde do Brasil, 2016 a;b;c;d).…”

New approaches and omics tools for mining of vaccine candidates against vector-borne diseases

“…Veterinary vaccines comprise only approximately 23% of the global market for animal health products; but this sector is growing consistently due to new technological advances in vaccine development, the continuous development of drug resistance by pathogens, and the emergence of new diseases. 45 Therefore, an additional research is needed for the development of safer alternatives, more cost-effective and better defined vaccines. 45,46 Globally, most of the veterinary vaccines available to overcome these diseases are attenuated or live blood-derived.…”

Molecular detection of pathogens in ticks infesting cattle in Nampula province, Mozambique

“…In the case of TBD affecting cattle, anaplasmosis and babesiosis continue to be the most serious problem in animal production (Martins et al 2008; Suarez and Noah 2011). Bovine anaplasmosis is mainly caused by the rickettsia Anaplasma marginale , which can be transmitted by approximately twenty tick species (including R. microplus ), and by bloodsucking diptera (Elelu et al 2016; Domingos et al 2013; Kocan et al 2004). At least some areas around Maputo province can be considered endemic for bovine babesiosis (Martins et al 2010) which is caused by the protozoa Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina , and the “cattle tick” R. microplus plays an important role in the transmission of this disease (Bock et al 2004).…”