Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Gazette
Letters SURVEILLANCE
Brown dog tick infestation of a home in England PUBLIC Health England (PHE) recently investigated a tick infestation in a family home in Essex (East of England) during September 2014. Specimens removed from two pet dogs and within the property were submitted to the PHE Tick Recording Scheme and identified as the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (15 males, 14 females and one nymph), a non-native species. House infestations are rarely documented in the UK (Best and others 1969, Fox and Sykes 1985) but may become more common with the increased importation of R sanguineus via travelling and imported pets (Hansford and others 2014).
On September 5, 2014, ticks were noticed on two dogs within the property and approximately 100 ticks were also seen crawling on the walls, furniture and soft furnishings. The following day, the dogs were treated with fipronil (Frontline; Merial Animal Health) as recommended by a local vet, and the property was fumigated, as recommended by pest control officers. The property required repeated fumigation one week later on account of ticks still being present. The owners had imported an 18-monthold dog (dog A) from a Spanish-based charity during April 2014. The dog was imported via a Defra-approved route and delivered directly to the owners by a UK animal charity, working with the Spanish charity. The animal was compliant with the Pet Travel Scheme and had been treated for ticks before leaving Spain. However, upon investigation of the travel histories of the owners and their other dog, the only likely
tick importation route identified was via the importation of dog A. Dog A may have imported juvenile ticks which subsequently developed into adult stages within the owner’s property during a four-month period. Raising awareness of the importation risk of this tick into the UK is essential, particularly as this species is well adapted to establishing in homes. As demonstrated with this case, eradication of R sanguineus from the home can be difficult and stressful for the owners. Further, the chance of being bitten by R sanguineus is also increased if they have become established inside the home (Dantas-Torres 2010), potentially putting owners and their pets at increased risk of disease transmission. Members of the public should be reminded of the risks of importing ticks into the UK when rehoming rescued animals or travelling with pets. Veterinary staff treating animals returning to/arriving in the January 31, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 129
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Letters UK should remain vigilant for imported ticks and are invited to submit specimens to the Tick Recording Scheme as part of a nationwide project to further understand tick importation risk in the UK. To find out more, e-mail [email protected], or visit www. gov.uk/tick-recording-scheme. Kayleigh M. Hansford, Maaike Pietzsch, Ben Cull, Jolyon M. Medlock, Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology, Emergency Response Department, Public Health England, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JG e-mail: [email protected]
References
BEST, J. M., BUTT, K. M. & ROHRBACH, J. A. (1969) Occurrence of Rhipicephalus sanguineus in London. Veterinary Record 85, 633 DANTAS-TORRES, F. (2010) Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Parasites and Vectors doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-26 FOX, M. T. & SYKES, T. J. (1985) Establishment of the tropical dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, in a house in London. Veterinary Record 116, 661-662 HANSFORD, K. M., PIETZSCH, M. E., CULL, B. & MEDLOCK, J. M. (2014) Importation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus into the UK via dogs. Veterinary Record 175, 385-386
doi: 10.1136/vr.h496
130 | Veterinary Record | January 31, 2015
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Brown dog tick infestation of a home in England Kayleigh M. Hansford, Maaike Pietzsch, Ben Cull and Jolyon M. Medlock Veterinary Record 2015 176: 129-130
doi: 10.1136/vr.h496 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/5/129.1
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 3 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/5/129.1#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Gazette
Letters SURVEILLANCE
Brown dog tick infestation of a home in England PUBLIC Health England (PHE) recently investigated a tick infestation in a family home in Essex (East of England) during September 2014. Specimens removed from two pet dogs and within the property were submitted to the PHE Tick Recording Scheme and identified as the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (15 males, 14 females and one nymph), a non-native species. House infestations are rarely documented in the UK (Best and others 1969, Fox and Sykes 1985) but may become more common with the increased importation of R sanguineus via travelling and imported pets (Hansford and others 2014).
On September 5, 2014, ticks were noticed on two dogs within the property and approximately 100 ticks were also seen crawling on the walls, furniture and soft furnishings. The following day, the dogs were treated with fipronil (Frontline; Merial Animal Health) as recommended by a local vet, and the property was fumigated, as recommended by pest control officers. The property required repeated fumigation one week later on account of ticks still being present. The owners had imported an 18-monthold dog (dog A) from a Spanish-based charity during April 2014. The dog was imported via a Defra-approved route and delivered directly to the owners by a UK animal charity, working with the Spanish charity. The animal was compliant with the Pet Travel Scheme and had been treated for ticks before leaving Spain. However, upon investigation of the travel histories of the owners and their other dog, the only likely
tick importation route identified was via the importation of dog A. Dog A may have imported juvenile ticks which subsequently developed into adult stages within the owner’s property during a four-month period. Raising awareness of the importation risk of this tick into the UK is essential, particularly as this species is well adapted to establishing in homes. As demonstrated with this case, eradication of R sanguineus from the home can be difficult and stressful for the owners. Further, the chance of being bitten by R sanguineus is also increased if they have become established inside the home (Dantas-Torres 2010), potentially putting owners and their pets at increased risk of disease transmission. Members of the public should be reminded of the risks of importing ticks into the UK when rehoming rescued animals or travelling with pets. Veterinary staff treating animals returning to/arriving in the January 31, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 129
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Letters UK should remain vigilant for imported ticks and are invited to submit specimens to the Tick Recording Scheme as part of a nationwide project to further understand tick importation risk in the UK. To find out more, e-mail [email protected], or visit www. gov.uk/tick-recording-scheme. Kayleigh M. Hansford, Maaike Pietzsch, Ben Cull, Jolyon M. Medlock, Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology, Emergency Response Department, Public Health England, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JG e-mail: [email protected]
References
BEST, J. M., BUTT, K. M. & ROHRBACH, J. A. (1969) Occurrence of Rhipicephalus sanguineus in London. Veterinary Record 85, 633 DANTAS-TORRES, F. (2010) Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Parasites and Vectors doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-26 FOX, M. T. & SYKES, T. J. (1985) Establishment of the tropical dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, in a house in London. Veterinary Record 116, 661-662 HANSFORD, K. M., PIETZSCH, M. E., CULL, B. & MEDLOCK, J. M. (2014) Importation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus into the UK via dogs. Veterinary Record 175, 385-386
doi: 10.1136/vr.h496
130 | Veterinary Record | January 31, 2015
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on April 17, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Brown dog tick infestation of a home in England Kayleigh M. Hansford, Maaike Pietzsch, Ben Cull and Jolyon M. Medlock Veterinary Record 2015 176: 129-130
doi: 10.1136/vr.h496 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/5/129.1
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 3 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/5/129.1#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
