9th Merial Symposium on Parasitosis & Arthropod-borne Diseases

Ticks and tick-borne infections are global medical and veterinary public health concerns. Thailand has economically and environmentally changed markedly over the past several decades. The magnitude of free roaming carnivores such as dogs and cats is still represents a considerable problem. Stray animals serve not only as reservoirs for infectious diseases to all pet but also as carriers for zoonotic diseases to humans since they are sharing their environment. Ticks play a significant role in the bridge between reservoir hosts including companion animals and humans. Zoonotic tick-borne diseases are the result of complex and variable interactions, subject to biogeographically rules and human and animal activity. Therefore, the combination of a sizeable population of stray dogs and cats and favorable climatic conditions promote the transmission of arthropod-borne organisms in animals. Tick-transmitted infections associated with protozoa, Rickettsiae, and bacteria are prevalent in Thailand. Babesia canis, Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon canis, HaemoBartonella spp., and Mycoplasma spp. Ehrlichia infections including E. chaffeensis, E. canis, and Anaplasma phagocytophila, also infect humans and dogs likely contribute to the enzootic cycle and human infection. Whereas many of the tick-borne diseases considered involve dogs as the major host or potential reservoir, the cat play a crucial role in the epidemiology of bartonellosis, especially cat-scratch disease with a variety of clinical syndromes in humans. The large populations of stray cats provide an excellent environment for the dissemination of infections between cats and from cats to humans because cats serve as reservoirs of Bartonella infection. Moreover, feline haemoplasmosis is also found in stray cats and might be predisposing caused of anemia in cats. As long as the intensification of the relationship between humans and companion animals, and the increase of tick population, the risk of zoonotic tick-borne diseases emerging becomes greater.