Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Tick Control”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Emerging diseases. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever].

INTRODUCTION: Recognized for many years in central Asia and Eastern Europe, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a severe zoonotic disease which affects people coming into contact with livestock or ticks. The range of the CCHF virus is now known to extend form central Asia to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and to most of Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa. ETIOLOGY: CCHF virus is a member of the Bunyavirus family, and is classified as a Nairovirus. CLINICAL FEATURES: After an incubation period of approximately 3 to 6 days the abrupt onset of acute febrile illness occurs. The first symptoms are similar to severe influenza and include fever, headache, severe back and abdominal pain. The hemorrhagic fever manifestations occur after several days of illnesses and include petechial rash, ecchymoses, hematemmesis, and melenna. Cases typically present with some form of hepatitis. The mortality rate is 10-50% in different outbreaks with deaths typically occurring during the second week of illness. EPIDEMIOLOGY: The genus Hyalomma of ixodid ticks is the most important vector of the CCHF virus. Vertebrates including birds and small animals provide excellent amplifier hosts of both the virus and the tick. The virus can be transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals and from person to person. DIAGNOSIS: Early diagnosis is possible in special laboratories using antigen detection by imunofluorescence or ELISA tests or molecular methods as PCR and antibody detection. CONTROL: Tick control measures need to be emphasized and utilized to prevent CCHF. This includes spraying camp sites, clothing and danger areas with acaricides or repellent. Strict isolation of patients with CCHF and a focus on barrier nursing would help to prevent nosocomial spread. Presently the vaccine is a dangerous mouse brain-derived version. Future development of a vaccine would help to prevent human infection.

Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean↗
PubMed1998

Dynamics of free-living ixodid ticks on a game ranch in the Central Province, Zambia.

Free-living ixodid ticks were collected at monthly intervals from January to December 1996 by dragsampling the vegetation of Mtendere Game Ranch in the Chisamba District of the Central Province, Zambia. Ticks belonging to 11 species were recovered. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was most abundant, comprising 90% of the total number collected. All life stages of this tick showed a definite seasonal pattern of activity. The adults were present mainly during the rainy season (February and March), the larvae during the cool and dry season (May to August), and the nymphs during the hot and dry season (August to October). Adults were most abundant in the wooded areas and nymphs in the open grasslands. Larvae of Amblyomma variegatum were only found from May to September, while larvae of Boophilus decoloratus were present throughout the year with peaks of abundance from January to February and again from August to November. Rhipicephalus evertsi larvae occurred throughout the year. Recent burning of the vegetation did not seem to affect the number of ticks collected. A possible burning regime to achieve a degree of tick control is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Effect of the association of cattle and rusa deer (Cervus timorensis russa) on populations of cattle ticks (Boophilus microplus).

The wild population of rusa deer (Cervus timorensis russa) in New Caledonia (South Pacific) is nearly as large as the cattle population. The cattle tick is widespread and occurs all year round. Opinions are divided on the role of deer in the biological cycle of the tick: i) Do they maintain a sustainable tick population that is secondarily available for cattle? ii) Do they decrease the infestation of the environment by collecting larvae on the pasture, but preventing their development to the engorged female stage? or iii) Do they contribute to both situations? An experiment was conducted in three groups of pastures, each seeded with 450 000 larvae/ha and allowed to be grazed only by cattle, only by deer, and by a mixed herd of deer and cattle (deer representing 30% of the biomass), at approximately the same stocking rate (470-510 kg/ha). After 15 months of exposure, the tick burden per weight unit of host was 42 ticks/kg for the steers-only herd and 0.01/kg for the deer-only herd. The steers in the "mixed group" harbored 7 times fewer ticks (6.2/kg) than the cattle-only group, and the deer in the "mixed group," 130 times more (1.3/kg) than the deer-only group. Five emergency acaricide treatments had to be applied in the cattle-only group, but none in the other groups. The long-term sustainability of a viable tick population on deer as well as the potential benefit resulting from the association of deer and susceptible cattle in the tick control of cattle are highlighted.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Integrated management strategies for Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) on pastured beef cattle.

Data on tick control and knowledge of the damage caused to beef cattle by tick feeding were incorporated into a computerized dynamic life table model (LSTSIM) for Amblyomma americanum (L.). Simulations were made to determine economically feasible, 5-yr integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for A. americanum in forage areas utilized by Bos taurus, Bos indicus, and crossbred cattle (B. taurus x B. indicus). The effects of host resistance, pasture rotation, habitat conversion, topical acaricides, systemic acaricides, and the area-wide application of acaricides to pastures on populations of parasitic female ticks were simulated as individual control technologies and as components of multiple-factor IPM strategies. The most effective, single-factor control strategy for A. americanum in beef cattle forage areas is the use of tick-resistant B. indicus cattle. Pasture rotation combined with area-wide acaricide applications was the only economically feasible IPM strategy for B. indicus cattle and reduced tick densities by 89% after 5 yr. Thirteen economically feasible IPM strategies were identified for use with B. taurus cattle. Of these, the most efficacious was pasture rotation in May combined with systemic or topical acaricide applications. Other strategies included systemic acaricides with area-wide acaricide applications to pastures, topical acaricides with area-wide acaricide applications, pasture rotation with habitat conversion and topical acaricides, and pasture rotation with habitat conversion, topical acaricides, and area-wide acaricide applications. Each technology reduced tick densities on B. taurus cattle by > 80% over a 5-yr period. Nine IPM strategies were economically feasible for use with crossbred cattle. Of these, pasture rotation combined with systemic or topical acaricide applications reduced the number of female ticks on cattle by > 84%; pasture rotation combined with habitat conversion reduced tick numbers by 77%. The most effective nonacaricide-based IPM strategy for B. taurus and crossbred cattle was pasture rotation combined with habitat conversion. No acaricide-free IPM strategy was economically feasible for use with B. indicus cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Entomopathogenic nematodes as a potential biological control method for ticks.

Entomopathogenic nematodes have been used for biological control of certain insect pests. In these studies the nematodes were tested as a possible biological control agent for engorged female ticks. Five species of infective juveniles (IJs) were tested initially for their ability to penetrate and kill ticks, including Steinernema glaseri (SG), S. riobravus (SR), S. carpocapsae (DT), S. feltiae (SF) and Heterorhabiditis bacteriophora (HP88). Infective juveniles (IJs) of SRs and SFs appeared to be the most effective in killing ticks and invaded and killed 30 to 100% of replete females. These two nematode species were tested on several tick species including Amblyomma americanum, A. cajennense, A. maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Although the killing rate of each tick species varied, the nematodes did not appear to be host specific and were able to kill ticks of all species tested. Egg mass weights of exposed ticks of each species were significantly lower than those of the controls. Ticks were examined with microscopy to determine whether nematodes entered and multiplied inside ticks. Partially fed female Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis exposed to 5000 IJs in petri dishes were collected at 8, 24, 48 and 96 hrs (Trial 1) and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 9 days (Trial 2) post-exposure, and fixed, processed and embedded in resin for microscopy studies. Only a few nematodes were seen in the hemocoel and tissues and they were surrounded by a clear space. Bacteria, released from the nematodes, were present in the exposed ticks and appeared to increase daily causing a generalized infection. Degeneration of tick tissues and death of the ticks appeared to result from bacterial proliferation. Nematodes did not multiply within ticks as they do in insect larvae. In these controlled laboratory studies, exposure of ticks to nematodes resulted in tick mortality and reduced egg production. Entomopathogenic nematodes appear to have potential as a biological control agent of ticks, but future studies will be required to determine whether nematode/tick interactions will occur in the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Ixodid ticks parasitizing Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and European wild boar (Sus scrofa) from Spain: geographical and temporal distribution.

Commercial hunting of Spanish wild ungulates has made them an important economic resource. Wild ungulates may have an important role in the maintenance of ixodid tick populations, and also as reservoirs of pathogens. We studied the ixodid ticks that parasitize Iberian red deer and European wild boar from Spain. Ixodid ticks (n=6,336) were collected from 431 Iberian red deer and 142 wild boar in different regions of Spain. We found 10 different ixodid tick species parasitizing Iberian red deer, mainly Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (63.7%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus (7.9%) and R. bursa (7.5%). R. (Boophilus) annulatus was only collected in the province of Cádiz (southern Spain). We found 8 ixodid tick species on the wild boar, mainly Hy. m. marginatum (68.7%), R. bursa (14.6%) and Dermacentor marginatus (9.3%). We found one adult Hy. marginatum rufipes and one adult Hy. anatolicum excavatum parasitizing wild boar from south-central Spain. Mean prevalence of ixodid ticks was 41.3+/-0.08% (n=475) and 31+/-0.09% (n=284) and intensity of parasitization was 13.9+/-0.2 (n=283) and 13.6+/-0.3 (n=130) ticks/animal for Iberian red deer and wild boar, respectively. Only 5 of the 13 ixodid tick species found were shared by Iberian red deer and wild boar. This finding could indicate a host preference when Iberian red deer and wild boar share common habitats. In both Iberian red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain the monthly relative frequencies of Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa presented an inverse pattern. The highest Hy. m. marginatum relative frequencies coincided with the lowest R. bursa relative frequencies along the year. R. bursa and I. ricinus were present in areas from northern to southern Spain while Hyalomma sp. and D. marginatus were exclusively collected in the two southern thirds of Spain. Haemaphysalis sp. and D. reticulatus were collected in northern Spain. Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa were present during the whole year in red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain, showing more than one life cycle per year. These results are important for understanding the role of wild ungulates in the maintenance of tick infestations and to improve tick control programmes.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Involvement of calcium and cyclic AMP in controlling ixodid tick salivary fluid secretion.

Catecholamine-stimulated salivary fluid secretion (in vitro) by ixodid ticks is reduced by deletion or lowering the concentration of exogenous bathing medium Ca++. The Ca++ antagonist, verapamil, reversibly inhibits dopamine-stimulated secretion. Ionophore A-23187 is unable to induce glands to secrete. Studies in which labeled and unlabeled Ca++ flux were measured indicate that catecholamines induce release of calcium from intracellular stores during secretion. Cyclic AMP/theophylline-stimulated secretion is inhibited by verapamil, and the exclusion of calcium from the support medium. It is concluded that the primary catecholamine stimulus induces cyclic AMP formation and mobilization of Ca++ (intra- and extracellular). Cyclic AMP and calcium are thought to interact to control secretion within the fluid transporting cells of types II and III alveoli.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

The CARICOM/FAO/IICA Caribbean Amblyomma Program.

The objective of the Caribbean Amblyomma Program is to eradicate the tropical bont tick (TBT), Amblyomma variegatum, from the Caribbean. Field activities directed to eradication of the TBT were initiated in May 1995 commencing in northern Caribbean islands. Plans have been finalized for the remaining islands to the south to start eradication activities in early 1997. The components of the program include tick control and surveillance, adaptive research, training, communications, and extension. Despite uncertain financial support, substantial progress has been made so far with strong participation by farmers and livestock owners who have been made responsible for the compulsory treatment of all ruminant livestock.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1992

Olfactory responses of adult Amblyomma hebraeum and A. variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae) to attractant chemicals in laboratory tests.

Unfed adults of the African ticks, Amblyomma hebraeum Koch and A. variegatum (Fabricius), important vectors of human and animal diseases, were exposed to volatile compounds in an olfactometer in efforts to identify both tick-produced or synthetic chemicals capable of eliciting an attraction response. A formula, relative efficacy of attraction, was devised for comparison of responses between species and sexes to a particular test stimulus, or within a homogeneous population to different stimuli. Adults of both species responded strongly to known tick-pheromone constituents, nonanoic acid, methyl salicylate, 2.6-dichlorophenol and benzyl alcohol, as well as to a commercially produced antiseptic, TCP (Pfizer), and its major components, chlorinated and iodinated phenols. Benzaldehyde, a proposed tick-pheromone component, and heptadecane, not known from ticks, were markedly attractive to adults of A. hebraeum but not to those of A. variegatum. Males of the former species, but neither conspecific females not either sex of the latter species, responded significantly to salicylaldehyde (known from males of four species of ticks, including A. variegatum). o-nitrophenol, a major component of the aggregation-attachment pheromone of males of both A. variegatum and A hebraeum and a proven long-range attractant for them in the field, was only partially attractive to either species in the olfactometer. Neither species was attracted to 2-methylpropanoic acid, previously identified in volatile effluents form feeding male A. hebraeum. It is concluded that these important disease vectors respond positively to a variety of volatile chemicals, which may conceivably be used to attract them to traps, animals or acaricides in efforts to control ticks or the diseases they transmit.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Synthetic pyrethroid resistance in field samples in the cattle tick (Boophilus microplus).

First evidence of resistance to synthetic pyrethroids in the cattle tick in Australia, other than the pre-existing cross-resistance in DDT-resistant ticks, has emerged. Three new strains have been investigated and characterised. The first, detected in central Queensland, showed increased ability to detoxify pyrethroids resulting in a marginal loss of efficacy of all pyrethroid tickicides tested, except flumethrin. Subsequently two more strains have been detected, with serious implications for chemical tick control. The first, from southern Queensland, has a high level of specific resistance to flumethrin. The second, from central Queensland, has a broad spectrum resistance encompassing all pyrethroids currently in use. The toxicology and biochemistry of these new resistant strains have been investigated and alternative tickicides evaluated. The significance of these latest developments is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Epidemiological studies on Theileriosis and the dynamics of Theileria parva infections in Rwanda.

An epidemiological analysis based on three country wide surveys was carried out to determine the prevalence of infections with Theileria spp. in Rwanda. In the 1998 dry season, a total of 264 blood samples were submitted to Theileria spp. characterisation using the 18S species-specific PCR-RFLP assay. The same samples together with 634 samples (317 samples/season) collected during the 2002 dry season and the 2003 wet season were further analysed using the p104 Theileria parva specific PCR. The results from the 18S characterisation showed the presence of four Theileria spp., namely T. parva, T. mutans, T. taurotragi and T. velifera in the field. Half of the animals had multiple Theileria spp. infections. T. parva was the most prevalent and a high correlation (94%) was found between the prevalence results using the 18S and the p104 PCR assays. The prevalence of T. parva infections was stable over time and over season but decreased significantly from the high land to the low land areas. This unexpected trend cannot be explained alone by ecology or the dynamics of the tick population in the different zones, many other components such as breed type, tick control practices and grazing system are likely to play a role. Another important finding was the fact that young animals are infected early in life in all regions except in the high land zone indicating the existence of a particular epidemiological situation in this part of the country.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Emerging tick-borne disease in African vipers caused by a Cowdria-like organism.

Heartwater is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by the rickettsial organism Cowdria ruminantium, currently Ehrlichia ruminantium. It poses an imminent threat to the Western Hemisphere, where it could cause mortality in cattle and other ruminant livestock in excess of 70%. It has been reported in the Caribbean; and its vector, Amblyomma sparsum, has been found on imported African spurred tortoises (Geochelone sulcata) and leopard tortoises (Geochelone pardalis) in southern Florida in the United States, leading to an importation ban on these reptiles. Symptoms have not been previously reported in reptiles. Here, we report peracute and acute deaths in African vipers imported from Africa through Florida. Signs included vomiting mucoid fluid, diarrhea, emaciation, convulsions, and death. Postmortem showed few gross lesions. The most consistent peracute and acute lesions were the pulmonary lesions and pericarditis with considerable bloody fluid in the pericardial sac (hydropericardium). These lesions strongly resembled the lesions of heartwater and a coccobacillus of less than 1-micron diameter was isolated in viper cell culture. The outbreak was brought to a halt by tick control and treatment of all exposed snakes with tetracycline. This isolation, tetracycline sensitivity, clinical signs, preliminary results with polymerase chain reaction of pCS20 ORF, and the viper preference of the disease may indicate a Cowdria-related attenuated species that has adapted to infect reptiles or an emerging new form of this group of microbes.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Potential risk of pathogen transmission by acaricide-poisoned ticks.

Many aspects of tick poisoning with acaricides have yet to be elucidated. One of them is the influence of acaricide poisoning on tick infectivity to their hosts. To clarify this problem, we should know how tick poisoning develops after acaricide application. Data obtained during more than three decades of work with ticks of various species and with acaricides of different groups are presented in the paper. The first important phenomenon found was the gradual and progressive development of toxic symptoms after acaricide application, with death of the treated ticks delayed for days or even weeks ('slow-death syndrome'). The development of symptoms was much faster after the application of fenthion, an organophosphorous acaricide, when compared to DDT, a chlorinated hydrocarbon. The larger the adult ticks of a particular species, the more refractory they were to acaricide action. The duration of the development of toxic symptoms directly correlates with the degree of species-specific refractoriness. A special index T(LD(50)) (T(LC(50)) was introduced for comparing the duration of the poisoning development between different tick species, populations etc. The index determines the time when the final mortality is reached after using the LD(50) of a particular acaricide. Another index , T(LD(90)), was used for practical purposes. The values of these indices decreased with increasing age of tick populations. The prolonged duration of poisoning was also observed in nymphal ticks of species with a prolonged life-span and the ability to over-winter (Ixodes, Haemaphysalis) but not in ticks characterized by a short life-span (Dermacentor). During the entire period of poisoning, from acaricide application until tick death, the individual tick passes through six stages defined by its locomotor capabilities. The stages are the same for nymphs and adults of both hard and soft ticks after treatment with various acaricides. When ticks are at the initial stages of poisoning (1st to 3rd stage for DDT or 1st to 2nd for fenthion), they can attach to hosts and imbibe blood. The average body weight of such ticks after repletion corresponded to that of control ticks. Engorged nymphal ticks normally molted to adults, engorged females normally oviposited, and their progeny did not differ from the progeny of control females. This second important phenomenon, called 'overcoming the poisoning', was observed in all studied species of ticks from several genera. Thus, the slow development of tick poisoning creates a potential for ticks to attach to hosts and to gorge blood, and for infected ticks to transmit pathogens to those hosts, while the ability to overcome the poisoning allows the ticks to survive and makes possible the subsequent trans-stadial and transovarial passage of pathogens. These data can be considered as strong circumstantial evidence of the risk that ticks can present to humans and animals at the initial stages of poisoning after acaricide treatment.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

Tropical bont tick eradication campaign in the French Antilles. Current status.

The Amblyomma variegatum eradication campaign was officially started in April 1994 in Martinique and in Guadeloupe, including its dependencies of Marie Galante, Desirade and St Martin. A budget of $10.5 and $5.9 million for Guadeloupe and Martinique, respectively, was initially (1991) calculated and considered necessary to achieve the program. However, EEC, the most important donor, estimated that 75% only of this proposal was acceptable, on which it agrees to support a maximum of 50%. The balance had to be provided by French government, local political institutions, and animal owners. The current budget actualized in 1995 by veterinary authorities of Martinique and Guadeloupe is $7,200,000 and $9,900,000 respectively. The program will take 5 years: preparation (1 year), acaricide application (3 years), surveillance (1 year). During this first year, a pilot committee was established, and a project leader was designated for each island. Efforts were essentially oriented to organize the program in the field and to obtain funds from French and local counterparts. Funds allowed the recruitment and training of 19 new agents in Guadeloupe and 9 in Martinique, in addition to personnel already involved in the tick control program. Census of animal owners and identification of cattle started or were developed. Tenders were invited to provide vehicles and acaricides. For the latter, choices were made considering the prices and efficacy as well as funds available. Due to a limited budget and cost of pour-on formulations, pour-on acaricides will be used on a maximum of 30% of animals only. In order to investigate animal owners' reticences and the most appropriate media channels to establish a communication and a training program, a survey was conducted in Guadeloupe on a sample of 301 animal owners. The results are presented. In order to strengthen the chances of success of the campaign in the French islands, it is expected that a similar program will take place soon in infested neighboring islands.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

The molecular and biological analysis of ixodid ticks histamine release factors.

We previously described a Dermacentor varibialis (DV) cDNA that encodes a ubiquitously expressed and tick saliva-secreted functional histamine release factor (HRF) homolog. In this study gene specific primers based on DVHRF open reading frame nucleotide sequence were utilized to amplify three orthologs, from the wood tick, D. andersoni (DA), the black legged tick, the southern cattle tick, Boophilus microplus (BM) and the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (AA). At nucleotide level, sequence comparisons revealed 98 89 and 84% similarity to DVHRF for DAHRF, AAHRF and BMHRF, respectively, while predicted polypeptide comparisons revealed 98, 96 and 91% similarity for DAHRF, AAHRF and BMHRF respectively. Phylogenetically, the tick HRF clade, while distinct (100% bootstrap value), is closely related to other arthropods, but distantly related to vertebrate and protozoan clades. Consistent with sequence similarity analysis, a DVHRF-specific northern blotting probe hybridized a approximately 900 base pair (bp) mRNA band on all RNA blots. Likewise a mouse polyclonal antibody to E. coli-expressed recombinant (r) DVHRF, cross-reacted baculovirus-expressed non-fusion rAAHRF, rDAHRF, and rBMHRF. As revealed by northern blotting analysis of larvae and nymph RNA, DVHRF mRNA is expressed in both immature and mature ticks indicating that its transcription is not developmentally regulated. Unlike rHRF/TCTP proteins of other organisms, the calcium-binding function may not be conserved for tick HRF homologs as revealed by the 45CaCl2+ overlay assay. Apparent global expression of DVHRF and its orthologs make this protein family an ideal target antigen for development of novel tick control strategies targeting multiple tick species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Acaricides for eradication of the tick Amblyomma variegatum in the Caribbean.

The success of an eradication campaign against the tropical bont tick in the Caribbean imposes the use of active acaricide compounds, if possible with residual activity, easy to apply and requiring few or no accessible water supplies and expensive application equipment. Tests of in vitro susceptibility of tick strains from Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe as well as observations of the impact of the current tick control campaigns conducted in some Caribbean islands, seem to indicate that there is no problem of resistance to acaricides. Pyrethroid acaricides have an advantage since they are active at very low concentration levels and have a low toxicity for mammals and to the environment. Some of them are in a pour-on formulation which allows for rapid application and complete coverage of the whole body of the animal. A withdrawal period is not necessary. However, improvements must be found to facilitate the application onto the back of cattle that, for the majority in the Caribbean, are tethered and not perfectly restrained. A spot-on application method with a drench gun seems more adapted to tethered animals than the pour-on. For small ruminants and dogs but also for cattle, slow release devices impregnated with acaricides may be useful in reducing the frequency of animal treatments. However, experiments on goats with collars impregnated with flumethrin indicate an efficiency of less than 55 days, insufficient to justify their use on a large scale in an eradication program.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Incidence and intensity of Babesia spp. sporokinetes in engorged Boophilus microplus from a dairy herd in Venezuela.

The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and intensity of Babesia spp. sporokinetes in hemolymph of engorged females (EF) Boophilus microplus monthly detached from two herds of a local dairy breed of cattle named Carora breed. The experimental herds were located in 2 ranches, 45 km apart, having different management of tick control (TC). Proper methods of TC were commonly used at ranch "A," whereas ineffective methods were used at ranch "B," Babesia spp. sporokinetes were diagnosed in EF B. microplus by microscopic exam of tiny smears of hemolymph stained with Giemsa. A total of 537 smears were checked, and 108 were positive to Babesia spp. (20.1%). The incidence of Babesia spp. was higher (p < 0.01) in ranch "B," 22.3%, compared with the value detected in ranch "A," 6.5%. Incidence of Babesia spp. was greater in the dry season (Dec-Apr) compared with the values detected during the rainy season (May-Nov). The intensity of Babesia spp. was 3.43 at ranch "B" (p < 0.01), and 0.32 at ranch "A" during the rainy season. The values detected for intensity kept no correlation with those two seasons, although it is known that the incidence and seroprevalence of bovine babesiosis are greater during the dry season. The importance of these parameters in the epizootiology of bovine babesiosis in Venezuela is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Laboratory evaluation of desiccants and insecticidal soap applied to various substrates to control the deer tick Ixodes scapularis.

Desiccant and soap pest control products were tested against Ixodes scapularis nymphs on sod, pachysandra, landscaping stones and pinebark woodchips in a laboratory study. High mortality (91-100%) was obtained with the silica-based desiccant Drione and Safer's insecticidal soap (SIS) treatments except for SIS treated woodchips. SIS and Drione contain 0.2 and 1% pyrethrins, respectively. SIS may be absorbed by the woodchips and not picked up by the nymphs as mortality decreased to 78%. Diatomaceous earth and Dri-die reduced nymphs by only 10-41%; neither desiccant contains insecticides. Nymphal mortality increased 15-17% after 20 or 100 ml of water was sprayed over sod plugs treated with SIS or Drione. The addition of isopropyl alcohol (ROH) to SIS increased the efficacy of SIS against nymphal I.scapularis on treated sod plugs but not on treated landscaping substrates. Drione, SIS, SIS-ROH and chlorpyrifos 50WP treated landscaping stones and pinebark woodchips resulted in 88-95% and 72-96% nymphal mortality, respectively. Unexpectedly, these substrates and treatments affected tick movement as well. Effective pest control products applied to xeric landscaping substrates present in maintained beds and borders near wooded areas could deter tick movement and provide significant levels of tick control.

Animals↗