Importation of Ticks on Companion Animals and the Risk of Spread of Tick-Borne Diseases to Non-Endemic Regions in Europe

Buczek, Alicja; Buczek, Weronika

doi:10.3390/ani11010006

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 165 publications

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“…Another example is Rhipicephalus sanguineus (vector for multiple CVBDs), which is being introduced to non-endemic countries (i.e. Germany and Poland) and can establish temporary or permanent populations associated with human habitation or in the environment [ 12 , 17 , 25 – 29 ]. Increased D. immitis infections have been caused by range expansion of both native mosquitos and imported Aedes species, climatic changes, and importation of dogs from endemic areas [ 4 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seropositivity of main vector-borne pathogens in dogs across Europe

Mirò

Wright²,

Michael

et al. 2022

Parasites Vectors

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Background Canine vector-borne disease (CVBD) has been an area of increasing interest in Europe over the last few decades, and there have been changes in the prevalence and distribution of many of these diseases. Monitoring CVBD infections in Europe is often done by individual countries, but aggregated data for the European countries are helpful to understand the distribution of CVBDs. Methods We used an extensive retrospective database of results from point-of-care rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests on dogs across Europe to identify distribution and seropositivity in animals tested for selected CVBDs (Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, Leishmania spp., and Dirofilaria immitis) from 2016 through 2020. Geographic distribution of positive tests and relative percent positive values were mapped by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics classification for regions with sufficient test results for reporting. Results A total of 404,617 samples corresponding to 1,134,648 canine results were available from dogs tested in 35 countries over the 5-year study period. Over this period the number of test results per year increased whereas test positivity decreased. Leishmania spp. had the largest increase in total test results from 25,000 results in 2016 to over 60,000 results in 2020. Test positivity for Leishmania spp. fell from 13.9% in 2016 to 9.4% in 2020. Test positivity fell for Anaplasma spp. (7.3 to 5.3%), Ehrlichia spp. (4.3 to 3.4%), and Borrelia burgdorferi (3.3 to 2.4%). Dirofilaria immitis test positivity trended down with a high of 2.7% in 2016 and low of 1.8% in 2018. Leishmania spp. test positivity was highest in endemic areas and in several non-endemic countries with low numbers of test results. Co-positivity rates were significantly higher than expected for all pathogen test positive pairs except for Ehrlichia spp. with Borrelia burgdorferi and D. immitis with Borrelia burgdorferi. Conclusions This study represents the largest data set on CVBD seropositivity in Europe to date. The increase in the number of test results and decreasing test positivity over the study period may reflect changes in testing behavior and increased screening of healthy animals. The Europe-wide mapping of CVBD provides expected test positivity that can help inform veterinarians’ decisions on screening and improve prevention and identification of these important, sometimes zoonotic, diseases. Graphical Abstract

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seropositivity of main vector-borne pathogens in dogs across Europe

Mirò

Wright²,

Michael

et al. 2022

Parasites Vectors

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“…Moreover, R. sanguineus , known as the brown dog tick, plays a role as an imported tick species in Germany and Austria [ 41 ]. As expected, R. sanguineus was found exclusively on dogs, mainly on those with a travel history to Bosnia, Bulgaria and Hungary, where this tick species is widely distributed [ 14 , 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Year-round tick exposure of dogs and cats in Germany and Austria: results from a tick collection study

2023

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Background Ticks and tick-borne diseases play a major role in companion animal health. Additionally, the European tick fauna is changing, for instance due to the spread of Dermacentor reticulatus, displaying a higher likelihood of winter activity than Ixodes ricinus. Therefore, we investigated current tick infestations in dogs and cats in Germany and in parts of Austria and the seasonal infestation risk. Methods Overall, 219 veterinary practices were invited to collect ticks from cats and dogs on a monthly basis. Ticks were morphologically identified and female I. ricinus specimens were measured to estimate attachment duration. Results In total, 19,514 ticks, 17,789 (91.2%) from Germany and 1506 (7.7%) from Austria, were received between March 2020 and October 2021, with 10,287 specimens (52.7%) detached from dogs, 8005 from cats (41.0%) and 1222 from other species (6.3%). In Germany, the most common tick species collected from dogs were I. ricinus (78.0%) and D. reticulatus (18.8%), while cats mainly harboured I. ricinus (91.3%) and I. hexagonus (5.5%) and only few D. reticulatus (0.6%). In Austria, collected I. ricinus reached similar proportions in dogs (90.4%) and cats (95.3%), followed by D. reticulatus in both dogs (5.2%) and cats (1.5%), with I. hexagonus (0.9%) collected only marginally from cats. The average infestation intensity amounted to 1.62 ticks/dog and 1.88 ticks/cat. The single to multiple infestation ratio was 79.1% to 20.9% in dogs and 69.0% to 31.0% in cats, with cats being significantly more often multiple infested than dogs, while the proportion of mixed-species infestations was 2.0% for both dogs and cats. The average attachment duration of female I. ricinus specimens amounted to 78.76 h for dogs and 82.73 h for cats. Furthermore, year-round tick exposure was confirmed, with 108 D. reticulatus and 70 I. ricinus received on average per month during December 2020 to February 2021. Conclusions The study shows a year-round tick infestation risk, with activity of both D. reticulatus and I. ricinus during winter, and confirms the widespread occurrence of D. reticulatus in Germany. Additionally, long average attachment durations and frequent multiple infestations underline the need for adequate year-round tick control, even during the winter months. Graphical Abstract

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“…Fleas are traditionally considered as prevalent feline parasites whilst ticks in cats are erroneously of less concern. Nevertheless, recent data have proven that ticks are becoming a common pest of cat populations in Europe even where they are unexpected ( Geurden et al., 2017 ; Rohdich et al., 2018 ; Wright, 2018 ; Buczek & Buczek, 2020 ). This recent information confirms a relatively new risk for cats represented by tick infestations and tick-borne pathogens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%