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Ticks associated with domestic dogs and cats in Florida, USA

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Abstract

Voluntary collections of ticks from domestic dogs and cats by veterinary practitioners across Florida, USA, were conducted over a 10 month period. Of the 1337 ticks submitted, five species of ixodid ticks were identified and included Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis. Most ticks were collected from dogs (98.4 %) with the most predominant species being R. sanguineus (94.3 %). Of the ticks collected from cats (1.6 %), A. americanum were the most common (74 %). Only R. sanguineus were collected throughout the state, with the other species collected only in central and north Florida. The tick species collected from dogs and cats represent a risk to these domestic species as well as associated humans for a range of tick-borne diseases in Florida.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank participating veterinary practitioners and their staff for tick collection and submission, Merial, Inc., for assistance in distribution of the survey, and Toni McIntosh for her assistance in tick identification.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32607, USA

    Jennifer E. Burroughs & Ellis C. Greiner

  2. Field Veterinary Services, Merial Ltd, Duluth, GA, 30096, USA

    J. Alex Thomasson

  3. Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32607, USA

    Rosanna Marsella

  4. Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA

    Sandra A. Allan

  5. U.S. Army Medical Command, Carlisle, PA, 17013, USA

    Jennifer E. Burroughs

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  1. Jennifer E. Burroughs
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  2. J. Alex Thomasson
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  3. Rosanna Marsella
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  4. Ellis C. Greiner
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  5. Sandra A. Allan
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Correspondence to Sandra A. Allan.

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Burroughs, J.E., Thomasson, J.A., Marsella, R. et al. Ticks associated with domestic dogs and cats in Florida, USA. Exp Appl Acarol 69, 87–95 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-016-0019-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-016-0019-4

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