Seasonal dynamics of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) in dogs from a police unit in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil

Abstract

The seasonal dynamics of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks was developed in dogs from a Police Unit in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, from July 2001 to July 2002. The study was carried out on seven naturally infested dogs (two English Cocker Spaniels and five mongrel dogs), with ages between six months and 10 years. Every two weeks, the numbers of feeding larvae, nymphs, and adults were determined. Dogs showing infestation levels above 500 adult ticks received three acaricide treatments. Considering that the treatments had affected the development of some peaking populations of ticks, it was inferred the occurrence of the following peaks: - larvae (four peaks): from August to November, from November to February, from March to May, and from May to July; - nymphs (five peaks): from July to September, from October to December, from December to February, from March to May, and from June to July; - adults (four peaks): from July to October, from October to January, from January to March, and from April to July. The occurrence of these consecutive peaks of activity of each stage of R. sanguineus may indicate that this tick can develop up to four generations per year in Goiânia. On the other hand, if the acaricide treatment did not interfere with the development of R. sanguineus peaks, more than four peaks of each stage have occurred on the dogs. In this case, it is acceptable to infer that more than one population of R. sanguineus was developing within the kennel concomitantly. The mean numbers of each tick stage was similar in the different seasons. The main attachment sites were located on the neck, chest, forelegs, armpits, ears, between toes and on the head. The number of adult ticks feeding on English Cocker Spaniel dogs was 1.4 to 11.5 times higher than that feeding on mongrel dogs.

Lack of acquired resistance in dogs to successive infestations of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks from Brazil and Argentina

“…Moreover, mongrel dogs (Chabaud 1950;Garin and Grabarev 1972;Theis and Budwiser 1974;Bechara et al 1994;Szabó et al 1995) and, as demonstrated in this study, dogs of the Dachshund breed do not seem to develop resistance to R. sanguineus ticks. These findings were also corroborated by Louly et al (2007Louly et al ( , 2010, who observed that English Cocker Spaniel dogs are more susceptible to R. sanguineus than mongrel dogs, and that Beagle dogs are naturally more resistant to R. sanguineus than English cocker spaniel dogs, respectively. Differences in the ability of different breeds to acquire natural resistance to ticks were also reported in cattle to R. microplus (de Castro and Newson 1993) and in goats to R. appendiculatus (Gopalraj et al 2013).…”

Seasonal dynamics of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, on a confined dog population in Italy

“…Brazil, France, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the U.S.A.) (Koch, 1982; Gilot et al , 1992; Cruz‐Vazquez & Garcia‐Vazquez, 1999; Jacobs et al , 2001; Shimada et al , 2003; Silveira et al , 2009). However, only a few published studies have provided data on monitored population dynamics of R. sanguineus throughout the year in a defined group of dogs (Gilot et al , 1992; Louly et al , 2007; Silveira et al , 2009) and the seasonality of the brown dog tick has never been investigated in a large dog population in an area with temperate climate conditions. Hence, the longitudinal study presented here aimed to evaluate the seasonal dynamics of immature and adult stages of R. sanguineus throughout a period of 1 year in the same group of dogs (autochthonous mongrels and beagles) living in a highly infested area in southern Italy.…”

Differences in the behavior of Rhipicephalus sanguineus tested against resistant and susceptible dogs

“…For the dog, R. sanguineus causes direct damage such as blood spoliation, dermatitis, discomfort and paralysis provoked by neurotoxins liberated by the tick during feeding, and indirect damage such as babesiosis, hepatozoonosis and erlichiosis transmission (Woldehiwet and Ristic 1993;O'Dwyer and Massard 2001. For 1 year Louly et al (2007) studied natural R. sanguineus infestation of English cocker spaniels and mongrel dogs, maintained at the same kennel. Cockers were infested by up to 10 times more R. sanguineus than the mongrels, suggesting that this race is more susceptible to this tick.…”