Ticks and MItes

Ticks

Did you know ??

          Pets may contract multiple diseases from a single tick bite.
                    There about 850 tick species, some of which are                                capable of transmitting diseases.
                             Ticks are arachnids. Meaning, they are more                                    closely related to spiders and scorpions than                                     insects.

What should you know about Ticks ??

• Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva (infant), nymph (immature), and adult (mature).
• Ticks feed on the blood of their host -- humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic mammals.
• Ticks may appear as a small dark speck on your pet's fur.
• Tick infestations are more common in dogs than cats.
• Ticks are generally not born with disease agents. They acquire them during feeding and pass them along onto other animals during subsequent feedings.
• Never remove a tick with your bare hand. Instead, using tweezers, grasp the tick close to the skin and pull gently.

How do it spread ??

• Depending on the tick species and its stage of life, preparing to feed can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. 
• When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface.
• A tick will suck the blood slowly for several days.
• If the host animal has a bloodborne infection, the tick will ingest the pathogens with the blood.
• After feeding, most ticks will drop off and prepare for the next life stage.
• At its next feeding, it can then transmit an acquired disease to the new host.

Do ticks transmit disease ??

YES,they do !!!

Babesiosis

• Babesiosis is a protozoan infection that occurs infrequently in Minnesota. Approximately 20% of patients diagnosed with Babesiosis also have Lyme disease from the same black legged tick (deer tick) bite.

Lyme Disease

• Lyme disease is a potentially serious bacterial infection affecting both humans and animals. The incidence of Lyme disease in Minnesota has been increasing in recent years.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF)

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever is extremely rare in Minnesota, but isolated cases have been reported within the state.

Tularemia

• Tularemia is a potentially serious illness that occurs naturally in the United States. It is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis found in animals (especially rodents, rabbits, and hares). Human cases of tularemia are sporadically reported in Minnesota.

Symptoms

• allergic
• fever, 
• headache, 
• nausea, 
• vomiting, 
• and muscle aches.

Prevention and Control

• Walk in the center of the trail to avoid picking up ticks from grass and brush.
• Wear clothes that will help shield you from ticks.
• Use a good tick repellent.
• Check frequently for ticks and remove them promptly.

Prevention for your pets

• A vaccine to prevent Lyme disease is available for dogs. However, the vaccine will not stop your dog from bringing ticks into the home.
• Check your dog or cat for ticks before allowing them inside.
• Topical tick repellents are available for pets.
• Talk to your veterinarian about these options.

Mites

Did you know ?

Mites are non-hazardous to humans
         Mites do not bite and are not vectors of any kind of infection.
                 Mites live on skin flakes from people and animals and                         some species also live on flour dust.

What should you know about mites ??

• House dust mites are microscope bugs that primarily live on dead skin cells regularly shed from humans and their animal pets.
• Dust mites are generally harmless to most people.
• They don't carry diseases, but they can cause allergic reactions in asthmatics and others who are allergic to their feces.

Where do they lives ??

• Beds are a prime habitat.
• A typical used mattress may have anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside.
• Ten percent of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings.

Do mites transmit disease ??

• Some mites can transmit (‘vector’) certain microbes that may cause infection and disease.
• The most prominent mite-associated disease is called scrub typhus, and is caused by a rickettsia transmitted by chiggers (larval mites).
• Another disease, rickettsialpox, is far more widespread throughout the world.
• This is caused by yet another rickettsial agent (Rickettsia akari), and is transmitted by the house mouse mite (Liponyssoides sanguineus).

Symptoms

• Hay fever,
• Watering eyes,
• Runny nose,
• Sneezing,
• Asthma, difficulty in breathing.

Prevention and Control

Personal hygiene. 

Keeping grasses cut short and removing vegetable near building. 

Repellent. 

Pesticides for outdoor residual treatment. 

Fleas and Lice

Fleas

Did You Know ??

         The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.
                 A flea can live more than 100 days without a blood
                 meal.
                          The female flea consumes 15 times her own 
                           body weight in blood daily.

What should you know about Fleas ??

# Fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, biting adult. 
# Fleas feed on the blood of their host 
  -- humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic animals.
# A flea can jump up to 8 inches high, or approximately 150 times its own height.
# That's like if you could leap over tall buildings in a single bound.
# Some pets may develop an allergy to flea saliva, which causes severe irritation and itchiness.
# Fleas prefer to live on dogs and cats, but may also be found on humans an other available animals, especially if there is no easy excess to the dogs or cats.

Causes

• Fleas breed close to the resting and sleeping places of the host, in dust, dirt, rubbish, cracks in floors or walls, carpets, animal burrows and birds’ nests. 
• High humidity is required for development. The larvae feed on organic matter such as the feces of the host, small dead insects and undigested blood expelled by adult fleas. 
• The adults go out in the night and feed of the blood of humans or animals.

Pathogen carried by Fleas
** The most severe infection spread by fleas is plague, caused by Yersinia pestis.
** Fleas are also known as vectors of murine typhus (endemic typhus, Rickettsia typhi), and play a role in the transmission of rural epidemic typhus (Rickettsia prowazekii)

Symptoms
- Their bites can cause irritation, serious discomfort and loss of blood.

Prevention and Control
Flea control on your pet

• Flea shampoos
• Flea dips
• Flea collars
• Flea powders and sprays
• Spot-on treatments

Flea control for your house and yard

• Daily vacuuming - this is very important for overall flea eradication.
• Wash all bedding, clothing, and removable furniture covers regularly (weekly).
• Apply insecticide to home and yard.

Lice

Did You Know ??

        Lice are smaller than sesame seeds, have 6 legs and can move            very quickly.

               Lice only live where they are warm and are usually found                  where there is a lot of hair, 

                       Lice need human blood to live and multiply, and they                        look reddish brown after feeding.

What should you know about LICE ??

• Head lice are small insects that live in people’s hair and feed on their blood.
• Lice glue their eggs which are called “nits”to the hair near the scalp, so they can’t get brushed off. The nits are small, whitish and oval, and may look like dandruff. 
• In very light hair, they may look cream or tan-coloured. 
• Lice are very common, and anyone can get them, though they most commonly affect children. 
• Lice don’t spread disease, and having head lice is not a sign of uncleanliness or poor hygiene. 
• If someone has head lice, their scalp will be very itchy.

Causes

• Spreads through close personal contact, especially head to head contact and by sharing personal belongings, such as caps, hats and scarves, brushes and combs, hair decorations, such as barrettes, and headphones. 
• It may even rarely spread through home furnishings, such as towels, clothing, blankets, pillows, upholstered furniture.

Pathogen carried by Lice

• Rickettsia species.
• The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme Disease, is transmitted by ticks and members of the bacterial genus Rickettsia are transmitted by lice.

Symptoms

• Head lice are a very common problem, affecting millions of people each year, especially preschool and elementary school-aged children and their close contacts.

Prevention and Control

• Lice have trouble living in very short hair. Tie long hair back in a braid or pony tail. This makes it harder for lice to crawl from one person to another.
• Do not share things like pillows, towels, coats, caps, hats, or hair accessories.
• Keep children in separate beds on sleepovers. Change the sheets when a different person will be using them.

THE END

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes !!
Did you know ??

        Mosquitoes don't have teeth.
                  Female mosquitoes can lay up to 300 eggs at a time.
                              A mosquito can drink up to three times its 
                               weight in blood.
                                            Malaria is caused by a parasite that 
                                            lives in mosquitoes.
                                                        The bumps from mosquito 
                                                         bites are caused by saliva.

What is Mosquitoes ??

• Mosquitoes are major contributors of several diseases throughout the world.
• Mosquitoes can pass along these diseases to humans by biting them.
• Only female mosquitoes bite to nourish their eggs .
• Only certain species of mosquitoes carry diseases.

Types of Mosquitoes

1. Aedes
2. Culex
3. Mansonia
4. Anopheles

What is dengue fever ?

• Dengue fever is a viral illness spread by the dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti).
• It is a mosquito-borne infection that causes a severe flu-like illness.
• There are four different viruses that can cause dengue fever.

      -- type 1, 2, 3 and 4

• Which can cause dengue fever, all of which spread is by a certain type of mosquito.
• These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

How do the fever spread ?

• Dengue mosquitoes are not born with the dengue virus. 
• When a dengue mosquito bites someone who is sick with dengue fever, that mosquito is infected and becomes a carrier of the virus.
• Once the mosquito is a carrier, it can spread the virus to other people by biting them.
• The mosquitoes carry the virus for life and can infect many people.
• The dengue virus does not spread directly from person to person.

Incubation period 

• People get sick 3 to 14 days after being bitten by an infected dengue mosquitoes.

Symptoms

• sudden fever and extreme tiredness
• intense headache (especially behind the eyes)
• muscle and joint pain
• loss of appetite
• vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain
• a metallic taste in the mouth
• red or macular (small, flat red spots) rash occurs in half of cases
• minor bleeding from nose and gums

Prevention

• There is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever. 
• The best way to prevent the disease is to prevent bites by infected mosquitoes.

To protect yourself:

• Stay away from heavily populated residential areas, if possible.
• Use mosquito repellents, even indoors.
• When outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks.
• When indoors, use air conditioning if available.
• Make sure window and door screens are secure and free of holes. If sleeping areas are not screened or air conditioned, use mosquito nets.
• If you have symptoms of dengue, speak to your doctor.

YouTube

**STOP Breeding Dengue**

Did you know ??

      90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa.
                   Malaria also contributes greatly to anaemia 
                    among children.
                                Malaria is both preventable and treatable, and 
                                effective preventive and curative tools have
                                 been developed. 

What is Malaria ??

• Malaria is a life-threatening blood disease caused by a parasite that is transmitted to humans by the Anopheles mosquito. 
• Malaria is a common but deadly infection in hot, tropical areas of the world.
• Malaria (although rarely) can also occur in temperate climates.

Types of malaria

There are five types of malaria:

•        Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax)
•        Plasmodium malariae (P. malariae)
•        Plasmodium ovale (P. ovale)
•        Plasmodium falciparum (P. faliparum)
•        Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi)

Mode of transmission

• Malaria is transmitted normally via the bite of an infected mosquito. 
• These mosquitoes, always female and of the genus Anopheles, carry malaria parasites in their salivary glands.
• The parasites, at this part of their life cycle known as sporozoites, are introduced into the host’s blood when the mosquito takes a blood meal. 
• From there, the sporozoites travel to the liver, reproduce (this process may take several weeks), then finally re-enter the blood stream.

Human-to-human transmission of malaria

• As the parasite exists in human red blood cells, malaria can be passed on from one person to the next through organ transplant, shared use of needles/syringes, and blood transfusion. 
• An infected mother may also pass malaria on to her baby during delivery (birth) - this is called 'congenital malaria'.

Incubation period

• Malaria is an acute febrile illness with an incubation period of 7 days or longer. 
• Thus, a febrile illness developing less than 1 week after the first possible exposure is not malaria.     

Symptoms

• A high temperature (fever) of 38°C (100.4°F) or above (occurs at regular times)
• Vomiting
• Sweating and shivers (also known as rigors) 
• Body & Muscle pains
• Headaches
• Diarrhoea
• In some cases, it can affect the brain or kidneys. 

Preventing
There is an ABCD for prevention of malaria. 

• Awareness of risk of malaria.
• Bite prevention.
• Antimalarial medication - Chemoprophylaxis (taking antimalarial medication exactly as prescribed).
• Prompt Diagnosis and treatment.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

YouTube

**(The Malaria Lifecycle-human stages)**

**(The Malaria lifecycle-mosquitoes stages)**

Thank You