3/17/2024 0 Comments Tick identification appFor companion animals, the importance of ticks as vectors of Babesia, Borrelia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species has been well documented. Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are important vectors of a broad range of pathogens affecting both human and animal health worldwide. Community engagement through the app is suitable for identifying hotspots for ticks and tick-borne pathogens and provided an early warning system for exotic ticks invading the Netherlands. The tekenscanner app is a versatile tool to use for submission of ticks and facilitated the fast feedback of test results. sanguineus, on dogs from France and the USA imported into the Netherlands, were all negative. Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, found only in autumn, were infected with Rickettsia raoultii (16 %) and A. Ixodes hexagonus ticks ( n = 93) were not infected. Ixodes ricinus recovered from cats were infected with Borrelia spp. (0.7%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.3%), “ Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” (2.9%) and Rickettsia helvetica (7.3%). Ixodes ricinus collected from dogs contained Borrelia spp. Nearly 15% of the ticks recovered from dogs carried one or more pathogens, whereas 13.8% of the ticks removed from cats were infected. Ixodes hexagonus (7.3%) female and nymphal ticks were also identified on both hosts, whereas adults of Dermacentor reticulatus (2.4%) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (0.2%) were exclusively found on dogs. Ixodes ricinus was the predominant species (90.0%), with all stages found on dogs as well as on cats. There were 1005 ticks collected from 406 dogs and 268 ticks collected from 111 cats. The app was downloaded 5591 times and resulted in the collection of 1273 georeferenced and barcoded ticks, with a peak submission in May and June of 2018. Results were added to the same app, usually within 2 weeks after the submission of each tick. Thereafter, DNA extracted from the ticks was PCR amplified, subjected to reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) and screened for a broad range of tick-borne pathogens. A barcode was assigned to each tick for the easy tracking of each submission to our laboratory for taxonomic identification. The tekenscanner app was used to record the geographical coordinates of ticks removed from dogs or cats onto a map of the Netherlands. Tick-borne pathogens identified in ticks removed from dogs and cats during the first 6 months after the app was launched in the Netherlands are reported. In April 2018, the “tekenscanner“ (Dutch for tick scanner) app was launched with the aim of engaging pet owners and veterinarians to record ticks removed from their pets and submit these ticks for identification and pathogen testing. The engagement of companion animal owners into the process of collecting epidemiological data can be facilitated through smartphone applications.
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