Abstract
Mexico is a highly diverse country where ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBD) directly impact the health of humans and domestic and wild animals. Ticks of the genera Rhipicephalus spp., Amblyomma spp., and Ixodes spp. represent the most important species in terms of host parasitism and geographical distribution in the country, although information on other genera is either limited or null. In addition, information regarding the influence of global warming on the increase in tick populations is scarce or nonexistent, despite climate conditions being the most important factors that determine tick distribution. In order to aid in the management of ticks and the risks of TBD in humans and domestic animals in Mexico, an analysis was conducted of the gaps in information on ticks with the purpose of updating the available knowledge of these ectoparasites and adapting the existing diagnostic tools for potential distribution analysis of TBD in wildlife. These tools will help to determine the epidemiological role of wildlife in the human–domestic animal interface in anthropized environments in Mexico.
Highlights
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What is the future in Mexico regarding ticks? It is clear that there is a lack of important information on ticks associated with wildlife, mainly in birds and mammals
The available information is highly oriented towards domestic animals parasitized by tick species in systems with a wide range of hosts
Summary
Diversity and Distribution of Tick Species in Mexico Mexico has 100 reported species of ticks, which corresponds to 11.2% of the known world diversity [1,2]. In order to understand the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases, the following information is needed: pathogen distribution patterns, evolutionary history between pathogen and host, susceptible wildlife or domestic populations, probable risk areas, environmental factors, and determinants of disease dynamics as influenced by spatio-temporal patterns [17,18] These factors will help to understand the emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic pathogens, as any change in the aforementioned factors can modify the dynamic balance of wild reservoirs and their associated pathogens [21]. Several tick-borne diseases that have been reported in Mexico are associated with wildlife and are of importance to public health The first of these is the Rocky Mountain spotted fever, caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii (R. rickettsia) and transmitted by Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, and Amblyomma, detected in dogs and humans [22,23].
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