Coinfection with multiple tick-borne pathogens
It's not always cut-and-dried?a single tick bite delivering a single pathogen. Sometimes ticks carry more than one infective agent, and sometimes a pet has been bitten by multiple ticks carrying different microorganisms.So when should you suspect that your patient is infected with more than one tick-borne pathogen?
Mar 1, 2006
By: Adam Mordecai, DVM, Erick Spencer, DVM, Rance K. Sellon, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
VETERINARY MEDICINE SUPPLEMENT
Alomst 1,000 species of ticks have been identified throughout the world. Many can transmit pathogens including protozoa, bacteria, and viruses. Infections with single tick-borne pathogens are considered common in people and domestic animals, while the prevalence of infections with multiple tick-borne pathogens is generally unknown. Both people and domestic animals are susceptible to coinfection with tick-borne pathogens, but, relative to single-pathogen infections, comparatively little is known about coinfections. In patients with clinical signs of one tick-borne disease, it is important to consider that they may be infected with multiple tick-borne pathogens. Coinfections may account for the diverse clinical signs some patients exhibit...
