Uilenberg G
IEMVT, Maisons-Alfort, France.
Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 1990;43(3):297-9.
The author presents a brief history of the introduction and extension of the African tick Amblyomma variegatum in the Caribbean. The tick is particularly dangerous for the livestock industry because of its role as a vector of heartwater and its association with severe dermatophilosis. It is already distributed in the Lesser Antilles from Puerto Rico to Barbados and St. Vincent. The chronology of its sudden unexplained expansion since the 1960s corresponds well with the multiplication of the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in the region, while the tick had hardly extended its distribution during more than 130 years, before this African bird arrived in the western hemisphere. These birds are often infested with larvae of the tick and carry out important movements between islands. The imminent invasion of the American continent appears unavoidable, with incalculable disastrous consequences for the livestock industry, unless the tick is rapidly eradicated from all infested islands. While presenting practical, human and social problems, eradication from the islands is technically feasible and its cost/benefit ratio is very positive.
作者介绍了非洲蜱虫变异革蜱在加勒比地区的引入和扩散简史。这种蜱虫对畜牧业特别危险，因为它是心水病的传播媒介，还与严重的嗜皮菌病有关。它已经分布在从波多黎各到巴巴多斯和圣文森特的小安的列斯群岛。自20世纪60年代以来，其突然的、原因不明的扩张时间线与该地区牛背鹭数量的增加相吻合，而在这种非洲鸟类抵达西半球之前的130多年里，这种蜱虫的分布几乎没有扩展。这些鸟类经常被蜱虫幼虫寄生，并在岛屿之间进行重要的迁徙。除非迅速从所有受感染的岛屿根除这种蜱虫，否则美洲大陆的即将入侵似乎不可避免，这将给畜牧业带来无法估量的灾难性后果。虽然根除蜱虫存在实际、人力和社会问题，但从岛屿上根除在技术上是可行的，其成本效益比非常可观。
