Experimental evaluation of birds as disseminators of the cosmopolitan tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae)

• Published in: Experimental parasitology Vol. 132; no. 4; pp. 389 - 393
• Main Authors: Szabó, M.P.J., Rossi, G.F., Cabral, D.D., Martins, M.M., Gerardi, M., Amorim, M.P., Tsuruta, S.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Acari; adults; Animals; Aves; Bird; birds; Chickens - parasitology; chicks; Dissemination; Dogs; Experimental; Female; Host Specificity; Host-Parasite Interactions; hosts; households; Ixodidae; Larva - physiology; larvae; Nymph - physiology; nymphs; parasitology; Poultry Diseases - parasitology; Poultry Diseases - transmission; Rabbits; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Rhipicephalus sanguineus - physiology; Tick Infestations - parasitology; Tick Infestations - transmission; Tick Infestations - veterinary; ticks; urban areas; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Dissemination; Bird; Experimental
• ISSN: 0014-4894; 1090-2449
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2012.10.004

[Display omitted] ► Chicks are not suitable hosts for Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. ► Chicks would be unable to maintain R. sanguineus tick populations. ► R. sanguineus ticks may be delivered by chicks to new settings. ► Birds may fortuitously introduce R. sanguineus ticks into non-infested dog settings. Rhipicephalus sanguineus is believed to be the most widespread tick species of the world and its dissemination seems to rely on the diffusion of its main host, the dog. Empirical observations indicate that several bird species in urban areas regularly steal dog food. Such circumstances create a chance for R. sanguineus ticks to climb on birds and carry ticks to another site. In this work we evaluated experimentally the likelihood of birds (chicks) to either feed and/or carry R. sanguineus ticks from an infested site to another and to infest a host (rabbit) in the new location. Chicks were not suitable hosts for R. sanguineus ticks. Not a single adult tick engorged on chicks, yield as well as weight of engorged larvae and nymphs were very low and feeding period of these ticks was very long. However, a few larvae and, chiefly, nymphs were delivered to a new location either mechanically or after attachment and engorging total or partially on chicks. A few of these ticks fed successfully on rabbits. Further evidence on the capacity of birds to introduce R. sanguineus into non-infested dog settings should be provided by systematic examination of birds from urban areas, close to tick infested households.