Ticks and tick-borne diseases: a One Health perspective

Diagnosis and Management of Tickborne Rickettsial Diseases: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Other Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses, Ehrlichioses, and Anaplasmosis — United States

“…Various domestic animals are susceptible to tickborne rickettsial diseases and can increase the likelihood of human exposure (1,82,331,332). For example, dogs serve as the primary host for Rh.…”

The wild life of tick-borne pathogens

“…We studied how the burden of immature Ixodes ricinus, the main vector for vector-borne diseases in Europe 60 , on three forestdwelling rodent species was related to three intrinsic factors -rodent species, sex and body mass -and three extrinsic factors -the relative abundance of deer and predators and rodent density by comparing twenty forest plots across the Netherlands. We found that tick burden differed between species, that males in general had more ticks than females, and that heavier rodents had more ticks than lighter rodents.…”

“…In the northern hemisphere, ticks of the Ixodidae family are vectors for human diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tickborne encephalitis 57 . From these, the spirochaete complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato 58 (from here on referred to as B. burgdorferi), the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis and vectored by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex 59 , causes the majority of human disease cases 60 . Both in Europe and in North America, I. ricinus and I. scapularis populations have spread and increased in density in recent decades, most probably due to a multitude of man-made changes to the environment, which has resulted in an increase in Lyme disease incidence 49,61 .…”

“…In Europe and North-America, the most common vector-borne pathogens are transmitted by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex 60 . Both I. ricinus and I. scapularis are three-host ticks.…”

It shouldn’t happen to a dog … or a veterinarian: clinical paradigms for canine vector-borne diseases

“…Although ticks were the first arthropods to be recognised as vectors of disease in animals and remain, in terms of the diversity of the canine pathogens they transmit, the quintessential group of ectoparasite vectors in dogs [51,52], it is probably fair to say that most dog owners would more readily identify fleas (or flea infestation) as one of the pet health issues of greatest concern. It is expected that veterinarians would also identify the dermatological disease caused by fleas as among the most common problems in companion animal practice; it is estimated that fleas are a factor in > 50% of small animal dermatology cases.…”