Frequent Exposure to Many Hunting Dogs Significantly Increases Tick Exposure

• DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2017.2238
• Publication Date: 2018-07-18T09:49:18Z
• Authors: Angela J. Toepp; Kelsey Willardson; Mandy Larson; Benjamin D. Scott; Ashlee Johannes; Reid Senesac; Christine A. Pete...
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Lyme Disease; Tick Bites; Middle Aged; United States; Tick Infestations; 3. Good health; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Dogs; 0302 clinical medicine; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Zoonoses; Animals; Humans; Female; Dog Diseases; Aged

Certain professionals have more exposure to animals and therefore an increased risk of zoonoses. Professional hunting dog caretakers work with upwards of 50 dogs and are exposed to zoonoses through exposure to multiple potentially infectious canine secretions or excretions, as well as to the ticks that dogs carry. Dog caretakers reported having found embedded ticks on their bodies 5.83 times more than environment-only controls. Zoonotic Lyme disease, first in the United States for morbidity due to a vector-borne infection, has dramatically expanded its geographic range over the last two decades. This finding emphasizes the increased risk of tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, based on dog exposure and in areas of disease emergence.