Institute of Parasitology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Parasitol Res. 2012 Oct;111(4):1505-11. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-2987-6. Epub 2012 Jun 26.
The fast and safe removal of ticks is of medical and veterinary importance since many tick-borne pathogens require time to be transmitted. In the past, many tools and applications were used to remove ticks from the skin of humans and pets. Choking the ticks by blocking their respiratory system with chemicals cannot be recommended due to the low respiratory rate of ticks. Mechanical devices to remove ticks are usually recommended; however, they vary with regard to their mechanism of seizing and holding the tick and in the way of extraction (pulling or twisting). In this study, five commercial tick removal devices with different mechanisms were tested on pets according to their practicability, injury of the mouthparts, and the idiosoma of female Ixodes ricinus ticks. Therefore, 22 veterinarians and four pet owners removed 596 ticks from various animals by using the different devices and filled in a questionnaire for each case. The tick species and instars were determined, and for the female I. ricinus ticks (n = 527) the condition of the mouthparts as well as the idiosoma was evaluated. Twisting of the female I. ricinus ticks reduced the force required for extraction, the adverse reaction of the animal and the time needed for removal. The device with a "V"-shaped slot which allows a grabbing of the mouthparts delivered the best results according to the condition of the mouthparts and the intactness of the female I. ricinus tick's body. Therefore, grabbing the mouthparts and twisting can be recommended for removal of I. ricinus females from pets.
快速、安全地移除蜱虫在医学和兽医学上都很重要，因为许多蜱传病原体需要一定时间才能传播。过去，人们使用了许多工具和应用程序来从人和宠物的皮肤上清除蜱虫。由于蜱虫的呼吸率较低，用化学物质堵塞其呼吸系统来窒息蜱虫的方法不可取。通常推荐使用机械装置来移除蜱虫；然而，它们在抓住和固定蜱虫的机制以及提取方式（拉或扭）上有所不同。在这项研究中，根据其实用性、对口器的损伤以及雌性蓖子硬蜱的体躯，对五种具有不同机制的商业蜱虫移除装置在宠物身上进行了测试。因此，22 名兽医和 4 名宠物主人使用不同的装置从各种动物身上移除了 596 只蜱虫，并为每种情况填写了一份问卷。确定了蜱虫的种类和龄期，对于雌性蓖子硬蜱（n = 527），评估了口器的状况以及体躯。扭转雌性蓖子硬蜱可减少提取所需的力、动物的不良反应和移除所需的时间。具有“V”形狭槽的装置可抓取口器，根据口器的状况和雌性蓖子硬蜱身体的完整性，其效果最佳。因此，抓取口器并扭转可推荐用于从宠物身上移除雌性蓖子硬蜱。
