EXPERIMENTAL IXODIDOSIS

Abstract

Ixodid ticks are temporary ectoparasites. For complete saturation of the female, it takes from 6–8 days, while the body size increases up to 120 times. One female tick drinks up to 4 ml of blood. In a separate nosological group isolated ticks ixodidosis of cattle or tick-borne toxicosis. Young animals are especially vulnerable to the mass attack of ixodid ticks. During the summer period in areas of high attack by ixodid ticks, animals can lose up to 5 liters of blood, and the average daily loss of milk reaches 10 g and 4.8 g of body weight. The article describes the disorders of the body of cattle with experimentally modeled ixodidosis by ticks of the species Dermacentor reticulatus. The results of functional changes (body temperature, pulse, number of heart contractions, respiratory movements) were recorded. In 87% of cases, strong inflammatory reactions were not found in the places of attachment of ixodid ticks, however, in 13% of the animals there were signs of an inflammatory nature: slight swelling at the bite sites, redness and the release of droplets of blood and lymph, which, when dried, formed crusts. Based on the experiment, it was found that with a mass attack (50 female ixodid ticks and more) on cattle, a disease develops – ixodidosis, which manifests itself by significant functional changes during all days of observation.