Ticks and tick-borne diseases of pets in the UK: risks to travellers
Abstract
The ticks most commonly found on dogs and cats in the UK are Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes hexagonus and Ixodes canisuga with other Ixodes species rarely seen. Ixodes ricinus is known to transmit some diseases in the UK. Dermacentorreticulatus and Haemaphysalis punctata also are indigenous and found occasionally on pets in some areas. Rhipicephalus sanguineus has been identified after importation on pets from continental Europe and elsewhere, despite the requirements for treatment for ticks under the pet travel scheme. The increasing movement of pets between the UK and countries with a high incidence of tick-borne disease will require the use of strong parasite control programmes to prevent the spread and import of tick-borne disease. Tick-borne diseases of pets are briefly described.
Ticks are temporary ectoparasites that attach to a host for a short period of time to take a blood meal. While this feeding usually causes the host few direct problems, ticks are the subject of considerable veterinary and medical significance due to the range of pathogens they can transmit. This article is concerned with hard ticks as these are more important in the spread of disease and are common on pets.
Hard ticks are so called because of a hard scutum or shield on their dorsal surface (Figure 1). The scutum covers the whole of the surface of the male tick but only one third (when unfed) or a small proportion (when fed) of the larva, nymph and adult female tick. The rest of the tick's body is leathery allowing for tremendous expansion when feeding; so they resemble a sac-like bag with anterior mouthparts and three or four pairs of legs depending on their developmental stage.
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