![]() ![]() RMSF can be treated effectively with antibiotics, but early and complete treatment is critically important. But it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if a symptomatic person has not been aware of being bitten by a tick.ĭiagnosing RMSF is even more complicated in Sonora and other areas of Mexico because symptoms can be confused with other widespread illnesses, particularly dengue. These symptoms are similar to other illnesses, and often people are unaware of having a recent tick bite. Rash, sometimes with blackened skin near the tick bite. ![]() Symptoms of RMSF appear 3-12 days after a bite from an infected tick, and include: ![]() Once feeding is complete, the tick drops off the host and moves to a protective location in the environment to finish digestion and molt to the next life stage or lay eggs if the tick is a fertilized female. Photo by: Jerry Butler, University of Florida Research has shown that brown dog ticks frequently group together when feeding on a host and the transfer of the bacteria that causes RMSF from infected to uninfected ticks can occur at this time. Once a tick has found a host, it moves to a preferred feeding spot (often the ears and neck) and using its mouthparts the tick pierces the skin and continues to take a blood meal. They also use a strategy called “questing” where they wait ready to grasp onto an animal that brushes past. Brown dog ticks can complete their entire life cycle indoors and reproduce year-round under these conditions.īrown dog ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus,īrown dog ticks can actively seek out hosts in the environment, using cues like carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, heat, and vibrations that cause the tick to run towards the host. The tick usually spends its whole life in the host’s living area, which can lead to tick infestations inside homes, since dogs typically live some of their time with humans. In locations that are warm year-round this tick can produce four generations each year. Under warm conditions and with access to dogs, brown dog ticks can complete their entire life cycle in as little as two months. Brown dog ticks are 3-host ticks and require a new host animal at each stage of their life. Between each stage, the tick sheds its exoskeleton and grows larger. After hatching ticks must take a blood meal at every stage to survive. Brown dog ticks go through four life stages – egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph, and adult. RMSF is a serious disease that requires immediate medical attention and treatment.Īs its name suggests, the brown dog tick mainly feeds on the blood of dogs, but it will also feed on humans and other mammals. Gouge, Shaku Nair, Kathleen Walker.īrown Dog ticks vector (transmit) the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in Arizona and northwest Mexico. ![]()
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