The species composition and distribution of Ixodidae from companion animals in Alberta, Canada.

• Author / Creator

  Fitzgerald, Daniel T.

• This is the first major update since the 1950’s to the composition and distribution of hard ticks in Alberta. Sixteen species were identified, the largest number of tick species in a single report from Alberta. The most common tick species identified from hosts which had not left Alberta were Dermacentor albipictus, D. andersoni, D. variabilis, Ixodes kingi and I. scapularis. A geographic distribution in Alberta for each of those five species was determined using Maxent. The distributions for I. scapularis and D. variabilis are the first ever determined for Alberta. It was found that one of three ticks on dogs went unnoticed by the owner and required a veterinary exam to detect. Twenty-two ticks tested positive for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Sixteen of these came from hosts that had not left Alberta. The implication of finding I. scapularis ticks and B. burgdorferi-positive ticks is discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Surveillance
  • Borrelia burgdorferi
  • Tick
  • Lyme disease
  • Companion animals
  • Canada
  • Maxent
  • Alberta
  • Ixodidae

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3JM01

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.