Brown dog tick
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Brown dog tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus ) |
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| Rhipicephalus sanguineus | ||||||||||||
| ( Latreille , 1806) |
The brown dog tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus ) is a blood-sucking parasite . It originally comes from North Africa and is now widespread throughout southern Europe. North of the Alps, it only occurs in summer through introduction; in heated facilities such as apartments, dog breeding and animal shelters, it can also occur endemically here all year round . However, there is now a well-founded suspicion that the brown dog tick could gain a foothold in Germany as a result of global warming . The brown dog tick mainly attacks dogs, other warm-blooded animals (including humans) are rarely visited. It can transmit Babesia canis vogeli (a causative agent of babesiosis in dogs ), Ehrlichia canis ( canine Ehrlichiosis ), Anaplasma platys ( canine cyclic thrombocytopenia ) and Hepatozoon canis ( hepatozoonosis ).
Morphology and development cycle
The brown dog tick is about three millimeters when sober, and when fully sucked, females are up to 12 millimeters long. They are reddish-brown in color, females have a darker back shield in the front body. The four pairs of legs are brown.
The nymphs are about one millimeter and the larvae about 0.5 millimeters in size.
After the blood meal, the females lay their eggs hidden in the ground or in hiding places in apartments and at dog resting places. After three weeks, the larvae hatch and suckle blood from dogs. They molt into nymphs and these eventually become adults. The entire development cycle takes place on the dog and takes about three months.
Dog ticks are very active in movement. You can also colonize neighboring rooms through small cracks and along supply shafts. The short development cycle can quickly lead to mass infestation. In cooler surroundings, they go into a cold rigor ( diapause ) and can survive for up to a year without a host.
distribution
The brown dog tick is originally from North Africa and is adapted to warm dry conditions. From there it has spread almost worldwide under natural conditions between the 50th north and 35th south latitude . In the warm season of the year it can also be found north of the Alps; it is brought in regularly from southern Europe by dogs brought along on holiday trips. However, researchers suspect that the brown dog tick could also become native to Germany in the course of global warming , as specimens have already been found on dogs that have never left their farm. This could be an indication that the species may already have gained a foothold in Germany. Under special microclimatic conditions, it can also be found in Central Europe all year round: The parasites can be found in apartments, heated kennels and animal shelters all year round. A team of parasitologists from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart started a new research project in mid-2019 to precisely investigate the tick species, particularly its frequency and distribution. The university therefore asks the population to report suspicious tick finds with a picture.
Medical significance and control
The brown dog tick can transmit Babesia canis vogeli (pathogen of the mild form of babesiosis ), Ehrlichia canis (pathogen of Ehrlichiosis ) and Hepatozoon canis (pathogen of hepatozoonosis ) in dogs .
Since dog ticks have no or only an underdeveloped sense of sight, an infestation can be prevented by disturbing the weather with body odor. Diethyltoluamide and icaridine are suitable for this , but they only have a short-term effect. The means of choice are pyrethroids , whose mite-repellent effect is also based on chemical irritation of the tick (“foot-retraction effect”). Amitraz , Fipronil , Permethrin , Propoxur and Pyriprole have a protective effect of about four weeks when they are dripped onto the skin ( spot-on ). Fluralaner works for eight weeks when administered orally. Deltamethrin and Propoxur have a protective effect of about six months when used in the form of impregnated collars, Dimpylat four months. But there is already resistance to fipronil and pyrethroids.
A tick prevention is generally in dogs - to protect against other tick ( Ixodes Ricinus , marsh tick ) and they transmit diseases - recommended during the warm season.
Web links
- Dog ticks: The brown dog ticks. Tick research, origin, reporting, diseases. University of Hohenheim
literature
- Cornelia Heile, Eberhard Schein (Hrsg.): Guideline for preventing the transmission of pathogens through blood-sucking vectors in dogs. BpT 2007
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marlene Riederer: Brown dog tick nests in apartments. In: BR24. Bayerischer Rundfunk, July 9, 2019, accessed on July 11, 2019 .
- ^ C. Schmid: Looking for brown dog ticks: University of Hohenheim is researching immigrant tick species. University of Hohenheim Stuttgart, July 5, 2019, accessed on July 11, 2019 .
- ↑ AL Eiden et al .: Determination of metabolic resistance mechanisms in pyrethroid-resistant and fipronil-tolerant brown dog ticks. In: Medical and veterinary entomology. Volume 31, number 3, 09 2017, pp. 243-251, doi : 10.1111 / mve.12240 , PMID 28639697 .