Journal Article

Ticks infesting domestic dogs in the UK: a large-scale surveillance programme

Abdullah, Swaid, Tasker, Severine, Helps, Chris, Newbury, Hannah, Wall, Richard

2016

Overview

Background Recent changes in the distribution of tick vectors and the incidence of tick-borne disease, driven variously by factors such as climate change, habitat modification, increasing host abundance and the increased movement of people and animals, highlight the importance of ongoing, active surveillance. This paper documents the results of a large-scale survey of tick abundance on dogs presented to veterinary practices in the UK, using a participatory approach that allows relatively cost- and time-effective extensive data collection. Methods Over a period of 16 weeks (April–July 2015), 1094 veterinary practices were recruited to monitor tick attachment to dogs and provided with a tick collection and submission protocol. Recruitment was encouraged through a national publicity and communication initiative. Participating practices were asked to select five dogs at random each week and undertake a thorough, standardized examination of each dog for ticks. The clinical history and any ticks were then sent to the investigators for identification. Results A total of 12,000 and 96 dogs were examined and 6555 tick samples from infested dogs were received. Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus) was identified on 5265 dogs (89 %), Ixodes hexagonus Leach on 577 (9.8 %) and Ixodes canisuga Johnston on 46 (0.8 %). Ten dogs had Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius), one had Dermacentor variabilis (Say), three had Haemaphysalis punctata Canesteini & Fanzago and 13 had Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille. 640 ticks were too damaged for identification. All the R. sanguineus and the single D. variabilis were on dogs with a recent history of travel outside the UK. The overall prevalence of tick attachment was 30 % (range 28–32 %). The relatively high prevalence recorded is likely to have been inflated by the method of participant recruitment. Conclusion The data presented provide a comprehensive spatial understanding of tick distribution and species abundance in the UK against which future changes can be compared. Relative prevalence maps show the highest rates in Scotland and south west England providing a valuable guide to tick-bite risk in the UK.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Animals / Arachnid Vectors - classification / biogeography / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / climate change / climatic factors / data collection / Dermacentor - classification / Dermacentor reticulatus / Dermacentor variabilis / Disease transmission / disease vectors / dog diseases / Dog Diseases - epidemiology / Dog Diseases - parasitology / Dogs / England / Entomology / Female / Forecasts and trends / habitats / Haemaphysalis punctata / Identification and classification / Infectious Diseases / Ixodes - classification / Ixodes hexagonus / Ixodes ricinus / Ixodidae - classification / Male / Methods / monitoring / Parasitology / people / Physiological aspects / Rhipicephalus sanguineus / Rhipicephalus sanguineus - classification / risk / Scotland / Sentinel health events / surveys / Tick Infestations - epidemiology / Tick Infestations - parasitology / Tick Infestations - veterinary / Ticks / Ticks - classification / travel / Tropical Medicine / United Kingdom - epidemiology / veterinary clinics / Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science / Virology