Ticks Parasitizing Dogs in Northwestern Georgia

Abstract

From January 1998 through September 1999, 324 dogs in three northwestern Georgia counties were examined for ticks. Six species of ticks were recovered. The three most commonly collected ticks were the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (310 male male, 352 female female; prevalence, 97%; mean intensity 2.1); the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) (118 male male, 119 female female, 38 nymphs; prevalence, 22%; mean intensity, 3.8); and the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.) (8 male male 26 female female, 2 nymphs; prevalence, 5%; mean intensity, 2.4). Other ticks recovered were Ixodes cookei Packard (3 female female); the Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch (2 female female); and the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (1 female). Another adult female specimen of I scapularis was recovered from a cat, further reinforcing that this medically important tick is present in northwestern Georgia.

Vector competence of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) for Rickettsia rickettsii

“…Such dense infestations provide suitable conditions for transmission of pathogens – including R. rickettsii – between simultaneously feeding ticks. In addition, different life stages of this tick utilize the same host species as D. variabilis including eastern cottontail rabbits, dogs, feral swine, deer, horses, raccoons, and even squirrels (Koch, 1982; Demarais et al, 1987; Mock et al, 1991; Pung et al, 1994; Kollars et al, 2000; Allan et al, 2001; Goldberg et al, 2002; Cooney et al, 2005; Duell et al, 2013; Barrett et al, 2014). It is unknown how often these hosts become systemically infected with R. rickettsii but utilization of the same hosts and large numbers of simultaneously feeding ticks provide opportunity for A. americanum to acquire the pathogen from infected individual ticks of either the same or a different species.…”

Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus

“…The prevalence is higher among free-ranging dogs (which are usually untreated against ectoparasites) as compared with domiciled dogs [31]. Mean intensities of infestation of 3.8, 5.4, 7.8 and 39.4 have been reported in north-western Georgia (United States) [44], north-eastern Brazil [32], south-eastern Brazil [45], and Italy [46], respectively. In south-eastern Brazil, the prevalence and mean intensity were much higher among dogs living in houses with grassy yards as compared with dogs kept in apartments [45].…”

“Rickettsia amblyommii” andR. montanensisInfection in Dogs Following Natural Exposure to Ticks

“…Dense populations of lone star ticks are found in the southeastern United States, and the current recognized range of A. americanum includes most of the eastern United States, due in large part to robust populations of white-tailed deer, a preferred host for all life stages (Childs andPaddock 2003, Paddock andYabsley 2007). However, lone star ticks are promiscuous feeders and will readily exploit cattle, horses, dogs, people, and a variety of other medium to large mammals as hosts (Oliver et al 1999, Estrada-Pena and Jongejan 1999, Kollars et al 2000, Goddard 2002, Goldberg et al 2002.…”