Ticks

Question 1

Describe the 3 parts of the mouth of a tick

Answer 1

-Chilcerae cut a hole in the skin and the hypostome in the middle enters the hole and is held in place by backwards facing teeth

Question 2

What does the saliva of a tick contain?

Answer 2

• Anticoagulants
• Vasodilators
• Immunosuppressive proteins

Question 3

What are the direct/ indirect affects of a tick?

Answer 3

Direct: inflammation at attachment site
-Anaemia
-'Tick paralysis'
Indirect
-Biological vectors

Question 4

What are the two types of ticks?

Answer 4

Soft (argasid)

Hard (Ioxdid)

Question 5

What does the presence of a genital aperture mean?

Answer 5

It is an adult

Question 6

What does nidicolous and non nidicolous mean?

Answer 6

• Nidiculous ticks like in the nest/ burrow of the host when not feeding (most argasic ticks)
• Non nidicolous ticks are in the open environment and ‘go questing’ when they need to feed

Question 7

Describe argas persicus

Answer 7

• The fowl tick: causes anaemia, loss of production

- Transmits: Borrelia anserina

Question 8

What is the castor bean tick?

Answer 8

Ixodes ricinus

Question 9

What is the hedgehog tick found in the UK?

Answer 9

Ixedes hexagonous

Question 10

What species does ixodes canisuga infect?

Answer 10

Dogs and badgers

Question 11

What is the proper name for the red sheep tick?

Answer 11

-Haemaphysalis punctata

Question 12

What are the 2 classifications used to help ID ticks?

Answer 12

Whether they are ornate or not ornate

Ornate ticks have festoons around the edge

Question 13

Discuss tickborne fever

Answer 13

• An indirect effect by Ixodid ticks
• Caused by Anaplasmosis phagocytophilum
• Transtadial transmission
• Causes immunosuppression- in lambs with this can have staph. aurerus introduced via bite wounds and umbilical cord-> leads to infections

Question 14

What causes lyme disease?

Answer 14

• Borrelia spp.(mainly B. burgdorferi)
• Transtradial and transovarial transmission
• In dogs recurrent lameness, lack of appetite and depression are the main symptoms

Question 15

Discuss louping ill

Answer 15

• Caused by Infectious ovine encephalomyelitis
• Mainly disease seen in sheep and grouse
• Virus infects CNS, causing significant suffering in clinically affected animals

Question 16

What does Babesia cause?

Answer 16

• Pyrexia
• Severe haemolytic anaemia
• Haemoglobulinuria

Question 17

Discuss different strains of babesia

Answer 17

• B. bovis= spread by rhipicephalus spp.
• B. divergens= spread by Ixodes Ricinus
• B.canis= Dermancentor spp and Rhipicephalus spp.

Question 18

Discus Ixodid tick control

Answer 18

-Mianly dips/ sprays and pour ons that are designed to kill adult animals
-Vaccinate where possible
Lyme disease in dogs
Louping ill in sheep