35 Ticks: Transmission
Description
This article is from the Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet FAQ, by tittle@zmall.com (Cindy Tittle Moore) with numerous contributions by others.
35 Ticks: Transmission
When a tick bites, the bacterium is transferred into the blood of the
host. The deer tick (Ixodes dammini) is found in the Northeast and
upper Midwest; the black-legged tick (I. scapularis) is found in the
Midwest and Southeast; and the Western black-legged tick (I.
pacificus) is found mainly in the coastal areas of California, Oregon,
and Washington. Hosts include deer, migratory birds, rabbits, mice,
raccoons and skunks ... plus dogs, cats, cattle, horses and humans.
Besides tick bites, Lyme disease may be spread by contact with
infected body fluids. Studies indicate that transmission may occur in
this manner from dog to dog, and possibly from cow to cow and horse to
horse. Transmission from animal to human *may* be possible. In utero
transmission has been observed. Animals may be reinfected with Lyme
disease.
The major vector for the deer tick is the mouse; deer have relatively
little to do with it. Deer simply act as a home for the overwintering
adults. Removing deer from an area has little long term effect on the
tick population since the adults simply find another animal to act as
a winter host.
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