Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ticks from wild carnivores and dogs in Chihuahua carry Lyme
By López-Pérez, Andrés M et al.·Published in Ticks and tick-borne diseases·2019·School of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Rickettsia massiliae in ticks collected from a domestic-wild carnivore interface in Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of free-roaming dogs in northwestern Mexico was found to have ticks that tested positive for Lyme disease and spotted fever bacteria. Specifically, ticks from 60% of these dogs were collected, and two of them carried Rickettsia massiliae, while a tick from a kit fox had Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. This study highlights the risk of tick-borne diseases that can affect both pets and wildlife in the area. Pet owners should be aware of these risks and consider tick prevention measures for their dogs.
People also search for: dog ticks Lyme disease · free-roaming dog health risks · tick prevention for dogs
Abstract
Sixty-five wild carnivores and twenty free-roaming dogs from the Janos Biosphere Reserve (JBR), northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, were inspected for ticks which were tested by molecular assays to identify Borrelia and Rickettsia infections. Overall, 45 ticks belonging to five taxa, including Dermacentor parumapertus, Ixodes hearlei, Ixodes kingi, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., and Ornithodoros sp. were collected from 9.2% of the wild carnivores and 60% of the free-roaming dogs. Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. DNA was detected in an I. kingi tick collected from a kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), while Rickettsia massiliae was detected in two (6.5%) of the 31 Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from free-roaming dogs. Our results revealed host associations between free-roaming dogs and wild carnivore hosts and their ticks in the JBR. The presence of the etiological agents of Lyme disease and spotted fever rickettsiosis in ticks raises the potential risk of tick-borne diseases at the human-domestic-wildlife interface in northwestern Mexico.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31202622/