Ticks are well designed to transmit disease agents such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Ticks attach securely to their hosts, facilitating not only effective transmission of infectious agents, but also the spread of both ticks and microorganisms to different geographical habitats via travelling pets.

This section presents detailed information about tick-borne diseases. The section General Aspects covers important aspects of disease transmission through ticks, such as

• Spread of ticks and pathogens within their zoogeographical range
• Co-infection of different pathogens
• Intrastadial transmission
• Dogs as sentinels and reservoirs for human infection
• Epidemiological tick control and preventative measures

For more information about the most relevant tick-borne diseases, see the CVBD overview and the following chapters:

• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Ehrlichiosis
• Lyme Borreliosis

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Hepatozoonosis
• Hemoplasmosis
• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Tick-borne paralysis

Further information

• Dryden M.W.: Tick biology and control: What practitioners need and know, in: New developments in ectoparasitic-related diseases, 2005, 18-21 (Download)
• Shaw S.E. et al.: Tick-borne infectious diseases of dogs. TRENDS in Parasitology, 17, 2001, 74-80 (Download)