The dangers of ticks

Many owners go to the hospital to deworm their pets regularly. The purpose is to prevent pets from being infected with parasites, which may pose a threat to the health of pets and themselves. Among them is an external parasite called a tick, which is also called a dog tick in some places. Its size depends on the blood-sucking situation, ranging from the size of sesame seeds to the size of peanuts. Here’s a detailed introduction to ticks.

Ticks on pets

Ticks that have sucked blood

Classification of ticks:

There are many types of ticks. In a large range, they can be divided into Ixodidae, Soft Tickidae and Nastidae. In terms of hazards, the first place is Ixodidae, followed by Soft Tickidae, and Nathidae are less common and not very important. According to the life characteristics of ticks from the family Ixodidae and Softyxidae. Ixodes mainly live in forests, shrubs, grass, etc. In life, the possibility of contact is relatively high when you go out to walk your dog; while soft ticks mainly live in livestock houses, bird nests, and wall gaps in human and animal residences, and the chances of contact are relatively rare (as long as they are cleaned well). Dogs clinically infected with ticks will have the habit and experience of going to grass or shrubs, so they are more likely to be infected with hard ticks. However, since the lower part of Ixodes ticks is divided into 7 genera, it is not so easy to identify which type of tick is infecting the elderly.

Blood-sucking ticks

About the life history of ticks:

Because Ixodes live in the environment, their activity is affected by the climate. It usually starts to appear after the temperature warms up in spring. Its life stages are divided into: juvenile ticks - nymphal ticks - adult ticks - eggs. The eggs are laid on the ground or in rocks. The egg stage depends on the type of tick and the outside temperature. Generally, young ticks hatch in 2-3 weeks or more than a month. The larvae climbs to the tip of the grass (or other plants), waits for the host (animal) to pass by with its front legs raised, and then climbs onto the animal's body. The larvae begin to suck blood and grow and develop. Some ticks only need one host to complete their life cycle, which is called one-host ticks. There are also two or three hosts, which are called two-host ticks and three-host ticks respectively. The adult tick dies after mating. The female tick falls from the host to the ground after sucking blood, and crawls to a dark and moist place to lay eggs. Ticks can lay thousands to more than 10,000 eggs! After laying eggs, the female tick shrivels and dies.

The development process of soft ticks also includes: eggs-young ticks-nymphs-adult ticks. The larvae begin to suck blood and transform into nymphs and then adults. Soft ticks can lay several to dozens of eggs in a lifetime. The number of eggs they lay in a lifetime depends on the number of blood meals and the amount of blood. The lifespan of adults is long, usually 6-7 years, or even ten years. At the same time, adults have a very strong ability to resist hunger

Dangers of ticks:

1. Suck blood. Ticks live by parasitizing on the host body and sucking the blood of the host. Long-term and large number of tick parasitism will cause a large amount of blood loss in the animal body, leading to anemia, weight loss, and stunted development. Moreover, tick saliva is an antigen that can cause itching in the body and secondary infection. While ticks suck blood, they may also secrete some toxins into the body, causing central nervous system symptoms.

2. Blood protozoa: babesiosis. Babesia is a blood-parasitic protozoa that lives in red blood cells. Babesiosis is also called tick fever and Texas fever. It can cause fever in a variety of vertebrate animals (human and animal diseases). The main clinical symptoms are fever, hemoglobinuria, and hemolytic anemia.

3. Viral diseases such as forest encephalitis, etc. Forest encephalitis is an acute infectious disease of the nervous system caused by forest encephalitis virus, and its vector is Ixodes sulcus ticks in China. Clinical symptoms in humans include: high fever, coma, paralysis, meningeal irritation and other central nervous system symptoms.

4. Bacterial diseases: Lyme disease, etc. Lyme disease, also known as Borrelia burgdorferi, is a natural tick-borne disease of humans and animals caused by several different genetic species of Borrelia burgdorferi. Clinical manifestations are: fever, skin lesions, arthritis, encephalitis and myocarditis.

Tick prevention and treatment:

Do a good job in prevention and regular external deworming. Especially for animals that like to go to grass or bushes, epiparasites should be driven away regularly every month. Products that are more effective against ticks include Bayer's Baichongshuang (not for cats) or Fulin.

Deworming only plays a preventive role. If you find ticks on your pet, you should remove them immediately and go to the hospital for examination to see if there are other diseases, such as babesiosis. Due to the special structure of the tick's mouthparts, when pulling it out, it must be pulled out completely without leaving the head on it. The owner can rub the tick with alcohol, and then use tweezers and other tools to remove it. If he is not sure or is worried about it, he can go to the pet hospital to seek help from a doctor.

Remember to disinfect and clean the environment at home. It is best to use a vacuum cleaner first and then mop the floor with disinfectant water.

Pets that have been infected with ticks must remember to deworm them regularly in the future!