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Preventing tick infestation is an important global effort. It is estimated that the worldwide cost associated with controlling tick levels and tick borne disease is as high as 13.9 to 18.7 million US dollars. [9] There are multiple ways to approach the issue of how to prevent tick infestation.
Deer tick 3D rendering of a male and female deer tick Ixodes scapularis is the main vector of Lyme disease in North America. [ 14 ] The CDC reported over 30,000 new cases of the disease in 2016 alone, the majority of which were contracted in the summer months, which is when ticks are most likely to bite humans. [ 15 ]
Some mites are parasitic, but all ticks are parasitic feeders. Ticks pierce the skin of their hosts with specialized mouthparts to suck blood, and they survive exclusively by this obligate method of feeding. Some species of mites may be mistaken for larval ticks at infestations on animal hosts, but their feeding mechanisms are distinctive.
Most ticks go through four stages: egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph, and adult. After hatching from the egg, a tick must obtain a blood meal at every stage to survive. Ticks can feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Unlike most tick species, D. variabilis prefers the same host during all of its life stages. [6]
Ticks are best known for spreading Lyme disease, an illness that can cause flu-like symptoms, body aches, fatigue, and more. By some estimates, almost half a million people in the U.S. are ...
Additionally, if you develop signs of a larger infection, like pus or a fever, you should see a doctor. Bites from certain critters, like venomous spiders or disease-carrying ticks, also require ...
Ticks carry various debilitating diseases therefore, ticks may assist in controlling animal populations and preventing overgrazing. [71] Ticks can transmit an array of infectious diseases that affect humans and other animals. [72] Ticks that carry zoonotic pathogens often tend to have a wide host range. The infective agents can be present not ...
For an individual to acquire infection, the feeding tick must also be infected. Not all ticks are infected. In most places in the US, 30-50% of deer ticks will be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (the agent of Lyme disease). Other pathogens are much more rare. Ticks can be tested for infection using a highly specific and sensitive qPCR procedure.