Ixodid ticks - carriers of infections: is the bite of this parasite dangerous and what could be the consequences

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Ticks are dangerous parasites, there are about 60 species of them in the country, but only ixodid ticks are carriers of pathogens of the most dangerous diseases, such as encephalitis, tularemia, Lyme borreliosis and other equally dangerous diseases.

How to recognize ixodid ticks

Ixodid ticks look like insects, but they belong to the arachnid family, and they can be recognized by the following signs:

  • the body is dark brown, brown or yellowish-brown, 0,1-0,7 cm long, the female is slightly larger than the male;
  • 4 pairs of legs;
  • settle closer to the ground, lay eggs;
  • they feed on the blood of animals or people, the engorged tick increases several times and turns gray, it is not easy to crush it.

Ixodid tick: photo

Ixodid ticks - what is it

Ixodid ticks or hard ticks are parasites that live in steppes, forest-steppes and forests in dense grass. They feed on the blood of animals and humans. The female and male differ in size, and in that the dorsal shield covers the entire body of the male, in the female - the shield covers the body by 1/3.

Tick ​​ixodes: morphology

Ixodid ticks belong to the arachnid family, their body consists of an unsegmented torso, head, and they have 4 pairs of legs.

Females and males differ in body size and color.

Females are red-brown, males are gray-brown or black-brown. A solid shield on the back covers the body of the male completely, and the body of the female - by 1/3. Feeding females increase in size much more than males. The diagram shows the structure of the female and male.

The structure of ticks.
Larvae of ixodid ticks
Ixodid tick larvae emerge from eggs, are less than a millimeter in size and have three pairs of legs. The larvae feed once, clinging to small rodents and increase 10 times. Having fed, they fall into dry grass and turn into nymphs.
Development cycle of ixodid ticks
The tick goes through four stages of development: egg, larva, nymph, adult. Development at each stage takes place with the change of host, larvae and nymphs feed on small animals, rodents or birds, adults parasitize large animals. The duration of each stage of development depends on the availability of a source of food, the temperature and humidity of the habitat.
Reproduction of ixodid ticks
Mating usually occurs in early autumn, the male is looking for the female when she feeds on the animal, only the fed ticks mate. The male can fertilize several females and then die. The fertilized, fed female hides in a secluded place to spend the winter. During this time, the eggs mature, and she lays them in the spring. An unfertilized, engorged female lays eggs, from which only females emerge.
Lifestyle of the ixodid tick
Adults live in dry grass litter, on plants, waiting for their prey. In order to produce offspring, they need to feed on blood. The male finds the female while feeding on the animal and they mate. The male dies after mating. The fertilized female falls away from the food source, increases in size, and lays 1000-2000 eggs. In spring, larvae appear, which have 3 pairs of legs, and after molting they turn into nymphs and they already have 4 pairs of legs.
arachnid maturation
Nymphs, passing through several links, turn into adults. With sufficient nutrition, all these stages, from birth to adulthood, ticks go through in a season. But in the absence of food, they can remain overwintering at the stage of larva or nymph and continue their development for the next season if there is a source of food.
Where and how do ixodid ticks hibernate
Ixodid ticks hibernate at all active stages of development. They hide in dry grass, in cracks in the bark of trees, in the forest floor, in the upper layers of the soil, in places well warmed by the sun, under a thick layer of snow.
What months are ixodid ticks most active?
After winter, ticks appear when the temperature rises above 1 degree, in the southern regions they appear earlier, in March and are active until June. With the onset of heat, their activity decreases. In the northern regions, they appear a little later, in April, and are active until mid-June. In July and August tick activity is average, in September and October ticks are less active.
Where do ixodid ticks live?
European forest ticks and taiga ticks are considered carriers of dangerous diseases. They love moist warm places, so they are most often found in forests, on forest cannons overgrown with grass, bushes, along paths where animals are most often found and people move.

Ticks of the genus ixodes: species

Among mites, other representatives of the ixodex species are temporary blood-sucking parasites.

One of the representatives of ixodid ticks is the Pavlovsky tick, which lives in the Far East, by all indications, is similar to the taiga tick, but is less common than its relative. It is also a carrier of dangerous diseases.
The European forest tick lives on more of the territory of Europe, the body structure is slightly different from the taiga tick. It parasitizes on all types of mammals, especially large ones. It is a carrier of dangerous diseases.
The taiga tick lives in the northern regions, the life cycle takes place within 2-3 years, hibernates at the stage of a larva or nymph. They parasitize animals but are aggressive towards humans. When bitten by an infected tick, it can infect people and animals with dangerous diseases.

Harmfulness

Ticks are carriers of pathogens of dangerous diseases of animals and humans, which are transmitted by bite. With saliva, various viruses and bacteria enter the wound. In different regions of the country, they infect people and animals with such diseases: tick-borne encephalitis, Q fever, tick-borne typhus, borreliosis and others.

Ixodid tick than dangerous to humans
The saliva of the tick contains painkillers, so it can only be seen when it is fed with blood. But along with saliva, bacteria or viruses can get into the wound from an infected tick, which will cause the development of a dangerous disease.
The danger of ixodid ticks for animals
After being bitten by a parasite, animals become infected with various diseases that can harm animals. But people can get infected from them, for example, if you drink unboiled milk from goats or cows with encephalitis.

ixodid tick disease

Ixodid ticks are carriers of such diseases:

  • tick-borne encephalitis,
  • tick-borne borreliosis, or Lyme disease,
  • tularemia, hemorrhagic fever,
  • babesiosis,
  • typhus,
  • relapsing tick fever and others.

All these diseases cause great harm to human health, and some can even lead to disability and death.

Tick-borne encephalitis
The tick-borne encephalitis virus enters the human body from an infected tick and affects the nervous system. Symptoms of the disease appear 1-2 weeks after the bite. This is an increase in body temperature up to 38-40 degrees, pain in muscles and joints, headache, pain in the eyeballs, especially in bright light. With untimely detection and treatment of the disease, convulsions, paralysis, coma and even death are possible.
Tick-borne borreliosis Lyme disease
The causative agents of the disease enter the human body when a tick bites with saliva. The incubation period lasts from 2 to 30 days. A white spot appears at the site of the bite with a light center in the form of a ring. Over time, the spot increases and symptoms appear, as with a cold: fever, general malaise, headache, muscle and joint pain. After a tick bite and the appearance of such symptoms, an examination should be carried out and treatment should be started, otherwise the disease may become chronic.
fevers
The causative agents of fever are bacteria of the rickettsia group. They enter the human body with tick saliva, the incubation period lasts 5-10 days. Signs of infection are: high fever, skin rash, headache, and muscle and joint pain. Black spots appear at the site of the bite, the primary signs of infection with a fever.

Control measures

Every year, a large number of people turn to medical institutions after being bitten by ticks. Blood-sucking parasites are carriers of dangerous diseases in humans and animals.

Ticks are increasingly appearing near people's places of residence: in parks, on alleys in large cities.

Animal breeders note an increase in the number of parasites. Therefore, the sanitary services carry out extermination and preventive measures.

Fighting activities

In places with a large concentration of ticks, chemical means of controlling parasites are used. Before carrying out work, specialists carry out the following activities:

  • inspection of the territory;
  • preparation of the site for processing;
  • selection of funds;
  • direct processing of the site;
  • re-inspection.

Specialists select chemicals that are safe for people and animals. In their work they use modern sprayers.

BIG DISCOVERIES. Ixodid ticks

Preventive measures

Ticks settle in damp places with thick grass. In places where people are located, you need to regularly mow lawns, remove tall grass, fallen leaves.

The food source of parasites are small rodents, so the fight against rodents is an important step in prevention. In places where rodents appear, baits and traps are used, but they must be used with caution so as not to harm people and animals.

How to protect yourself from the ixodid tick

When going for a walk or a picnic in nature, the following should be taken into account: ticks sit in thick grass and wait for the victim. Avoid damp places with tall grass, bushes. To protect yourself you need:

  1. Choose clothes and shoes that cover the body as much as possible. Wear a hood or hat over your head. Tuck trousers into boots, fasten sleeves so that the tick cannot reach the body.
  2. Apply special protective agents to clothing and body that will repel parasites.
  3. From time to time, examine yourself and those with whom you rest together for the presence of ticks. They usually crawl from the bottom up.
  4. After returning home, thoroughly shake out the clothes, especially pockets, folds, seams. But this must be done outside the premises.
  5. In areas where tick-borne encephalitis infection occurs frequently, residents are vaccinated.
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