Year-round tick exposure of dogs and cats in Germany and Austria: results from a tick collection study

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ticks and tick-borne diseases play a major role in companion animal health. Additionally, the European tick fauna is changing, for instance due to the spread of Dermacentor reticulatus, displaying a higher likelihood of winter activity than Ixodes ricinus. Therefore, we investigated current tick infestations in dogs and cats in Germany and in parts of Austria and the seasonal infestation risk.

Methods

Overall, 219 veterinary practices were invited to collect ticks from cats and dogs on a monthly basis. Ticks were morphologically identified and female I. ricinus specimens were measured to estimate attachment duration.

Results

In total, 19,514 ticks, 17,789 (91.2%) from Germany and 1506 (7.7%) from Austria, were received between March 2020 and October 20

SUBMITTER: Probst J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9933410 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature