Ectoparasites in Farm animals

What are Parasites?

 • Feed on others 

• Live in and on a host 

• Sometimes have an intermediate host in which they develop 

• Parasites don’t necessarily kill their host. The survival of the parasite depends on the survival of the host because it feeds on it. If the host dies the parasite often also die.

Ectoparasites: •

They live on the skin surface of the host , feed on blood and scales Endoparasites.  Penetrate into the body and live in organs, vessels, skin Picture ectoparasites 

Types of Parasites Ectoparasites 

• Ticks 

• Fleas 

• Lice, biting lice and shaft lice 

• Mites 

• (Biting) Flies 

• Mosquitoes

 Endoparasites

 • Worms •

 Protozoa

 • Fly larvae e.g. flesh flies, warble flies, bot flies 

Ectoparasites

 A parasite that lives on or in the skin but not within the body of its host!

 Ticks – General Information 

• Hide in bushes and grassland 

• Suck blood of mammals 

• Once they are engorged with blood they fall on the ground 

• Life cycle: 

egg – larvae – tick 

• Prefer warm and humid climate for life cycle 

• Worldwide distribution Ticks – General Information 

• Prefer warm and humid body parts with soft and thin skin for feeding (ears, under the tail, around anus and vagina, crook of the arm, inside of the leg)

Pictures © Community and Veterinary Services Southern Africa 

Ticks - types 2 main families

 1.0 Ixodidae (hard ticks with a shield) – on mammals 

2.0 Argasidae (soft ticks without shield) – on birds 

 Types of Ticks with shield 

• Brown Dog Tick 

• Castor Bean Tick 

 • Ornate Dog Tick 

• Tropical Bont Tick 

• Small Smooth Bont-Legged Tick without shield 

• African Bird Argasid 

• Poultry Tick 

• African Tampan Ornate dog tick 

 3.0 Tick infestation 

 What do I have to think about? 

• Remove tick • Check for fever 

• Check for paralytic symptoms = weakness/immobility in legs or other body parts 

• Check for red stripes indicating intoxication – Red stripes are signs for infection: 

• Also check for swelling, heat, pain and redness of the skin 

How to remove a tick To feed on blood the tick burrows its head into the skin Picture

 • Grasp the tick‘s body firmly next to the skin

 • Pull gently and steadily until the tick lets go of the skin

 • A tick does not have a screw thread – you don‘t need to pull in one direction!!!

 • Never kill tick before taking it out with glue etc.! Killing the tick increases the risk of diseases being transmitted into the body Ticks – as vectors 

• A vector carries and transfers a pathogen into another organism • Common disease vectors are mosquitoes, flies, sand flies, lice, fleas, mites and ticks 

• Ticks are vectors (carriers and transmitter) of a number of bacterial, viral and parasitic (protozoa) diseases Tick-borne bacterial diseases e.g. Disease Species Host Symptoms Distributio n Borreliosis Borrelia burgdorferi, B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. miyamotoi Dogs, humans Dog: often asymptomatic; sometimes fever, swollen lymph nodes, paralysis Asia, Europe, America Ehrlichiosis Ehrlichia canis, E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii Dogs Sometimes over years asymptomatic; fever, vomitus, swollen lymph nodes, dyspnoea, bleedings, paralysis, arthritis 

Worldwide Tick-borne viral diseases e.g. Disease Species Host Symptoms Distributio n Louping Ill Louping-IllVirus Sheep, sometimes: birds, other mammals Central nervous symptoms: paralysis, shivering, movement disorders (uncontrolled jumping) Europe Tick borne encephalitis Tick-borneencephalitis -virus Ruminants, birds, rodents, carnivores, equines, humans Dogs: neurological disorders; ruminants: lethargy, respiratory disorders Europe Tick-borne parasitic diseases e.g. Disease Species Host Symptoms Distribution Babesiosis Babesia canis vogeli, B. canis canis, B. rossi, B. anni, B. gibsoni, B. vogeli, B. conradae, B. cati, B. felis Mammals, humans Often asymptomatic; anemia worldwide Hepatozoonosis Hepatozoon canis, H. americanum, H. spp. Dogs, cats Fever, loss of appetite, pain in the lumbar region worldwide Tick - Treatment & Prevention Spot on and Spray e.g. • Dogs: Combined products containing – Permethrin (ticks, fleas, lice, mites) toxic for cats – Imidacloprid (fleas, lice)  Protection for one month • Dogs + cats: products based on – Fipronil (ticks, fleas, lice, mites) resistancies depending on area. 

Protection for 1 month, Spray suitable on puppies Community hern Africa Tick - Treatment & Prevention Collar e.g. • Dogs + cats: Combined products containing – Imidacloprid (fleas, lice), – Flumethrin (insects, ticks)  Protection for 7 months Pill e.g. • Dogs + cats: Products based on – Fluralaner (fleas and ticks)  Protection for 3 months