Ticks

Ticks
A tick (a small blood sucking insect) is nasty since it amongst others might cause the Lyme disease (the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi) and the perilous disease Babesiose. 

Babesiose
Babesiose is a protozoiasis infection which resembles malaria. The tick must be attached for at least 24 hours in order to be able to transfer the disease.

Lyme-disease
The Lyme disease or Lyme-borreliose is an infectious disease which you obtain after you have been bitten by an infected tick. Fortunately, not all ticks are infected, only 10% of the ticks contain a pathogenic germ (Borrelia).

What are ticks?
Ticks are small spiderlike insects. They vary in size from 0.5 until some millimeters. They rarely get larger than one centimeter. In the Netherlands the “hard tick” Ixodes Rinicus occurs. The life cycle of a tick starts as a larva and, via various middle stages, ends after 2-3 years as adult tick. Ticks are active in the period March-October. Especially if the weather is wet they are very active. In winter they rest. Ticks are parasites. The live of blood which they suck with human beings and animals. An average of 14% of the ticks is infected with Lyme. A survey from the RIVM in 1994 showed that in that year 33.000 Dutch people visited the doctor due to a tick bite. 6500 got the Lyme disease

The diseases
The most well-known disease is the Lyme disease. This disease can develop both with people and with animals. With a cat the tick bite is revealed because of the fact that the tick is visible or you feel a little lump on the skin. The most important risk factor for infection is the time the tick spends on the skin. The tick takes time to suck the blood. The longer it takes, the larger the chance that you get infected. You must therefore remove ticks as fast as possible (within 48 hours)

Removing ticks
Removing ticks is very easy. There are tick tongs available at your pet shop.

Prevention
Avoid contact with bushes and high grass. Make sure that, especially during risk periods, all parts of the bodies of children are covered. After all, ticks can enter through the smallest openings. Always check your skin after having been in the nature. Check your cat if he goes outside regularly, every 2 days.

Don’t do this.
Never use alcohol or a cigarette to remove/stun a tick. The tick might vomit his stomach’s content and this only increases the chance on diseases! A stunned, or even dead tick cannot be removed easier than a tick which is alive. Don’t use a pair of tweezers. The tick might not get loose completely and might cause infections. The tick’s head is in the skin; the only thing you see is the body.