title: Burden of tick-borne infections on American companion animals.
abstract: This review examines the biology of ticks and tick-borne infections in the United States. The most common tick-borne diseases in dogs and cats are discussed. We demonstrate that there is much interest in tick-borne infections at the level of the lay public (pet owners), describe trends in the distribution and prevalence of tick-borne infections in the United States, summarize some issues in understanding the degree of ill health due to tick-borne infections, and suggest some avenues for research that would clarify these issues.
authors: Division of Infectious Diseases and New England Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
authors: Zenda L
authors: ZL
authors: Berrada
authors: Sam R
authors: SR
authors: Telford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002415:Cats; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D012288:Rickettsiaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology