Ticks and Health

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Ticks and humans: what is at stake?

A societal issue

Challenges in tropical environments

Lyme disease: what are the impacts?

1. What is a tick?

Where do ticks fit in the animal kingdom?

The tick life cycle

Ticks or mosquitoes: what are the differences?

Which hosts do ticks feed on?

Humans: accidental hosts of ticks

The blood meal and the genetic arsenal of ticks

How do ticks locate their hosts?

How do male and female ticks find each other?

Which ticks thrive in which climates?

Are any tick species endangered?

Sexual reproduction

Do some species reproduce without sex?

2. Which microbes are associated with ticks?

Concepts of vector competence and vector capacity

Are some hosts more competent than others?

Different regions, different species, different diseases

Agents of Lyme disease

Where and when did Lyme disease appear?

Tick-borne encephalitis

Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHF)

Anaplasmoses

Other bacterial diseases

Animal piroplasmoses

Lesser-known parasites transmitted by ticks

Are all microbes infectious?

Pathogen or symbiont? divergent trajectories from a common origin

The tick microbiome: an organ-specific ecosystem

Microbiota and the transmission of pathogens

3. How do we define and measure tick-related risk?

How can we understand and monitor risk?

The notion of hazard: where and when are ticks found?

Exposure: the second component of risk

Vulnerability: the third component of risk

How can tick-related risk be characterized and monitored?

4. How can we reduce tick-related risk?

How can hazard be reduced?

Can human exposure be reduced?

How can exposure be reduced in domestic animals?

Environmental impact of acaricides and resistance

Can vulnerability be reduced?

Enjoying nature while staying alert

Bibliographic references

Image credits