Utrecht Centre for Tick-borne Diseases (UCTD), FAO Reference Centre for Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases Research Programme, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, Republic of South Africa.
Parasit Vectors. 2019 Mar 26;12(1):116. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3373-3.
The engagement of companion animal owners into the process of collecting epidemiological data can be facilitated through smartphone applications. In April 2018, the "tekenscanner" (Dutch for tick scanner) app was launched with the aim of engaging pet owners and veterinarians to record ticks removed from their pets and submit these ticks for identification and pathogen testing. Tick-borne pathogens identified in ticks removed from dogs and cats during the first 6 months after the app was launched in the Netherlands are reported.
The tekenscanner app was used to record the geographical coordinates of ticks removed from dogs or cats onto a map of the Netherlands. A barcode was assigned to each tick for the easy tracking of each submission to our laboratory for taxonomic identification. Thereafter, DNA extracted from the ticks was PCR amplified, subjected to reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) and screened for a broad range of tick-borne pathogens. Results were added to the same app, usually within 2 weeks after the submission of each tick.
The app was downloaded 5591 times and resulted in the collection of 1273 georeferenced and barcoded ticks, with a peak submission in May and June of 2018. There were 1005 ticks collected from 406 dogs and 268 ticks collected from 111 cats. Ixodes ricinus was the predominant species (90.0%), with all stages found on dogs as well as on cats. Ixodes hexagonus (7.3%) female and nymphal ticks were also identified on both hosts, whereas adults of Dermacentor reticulatus (2.4%) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (0.2%) were exclusively found on dogs. Nearly 15% of the ticks recovered from dogs carried one or more pathogens, whereas 13.8% of the ticks removed from cats were infected. Ixodes ricinus collected from dogs contained Borrelia spp. (1.9%), Babesia spp. (0.7%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.3%), "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis" (2.9%) and Rickettsia helvetica (7.3%). Ixodes ricinus recovered from cats were infected with Borrelia spp. (1.9%), Babesia spp. (0.4%), A. phagocytophilum (1.9%), "Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis" (2.6%) and R. helvetica (6.7%). Ixodes hexagonus ticks (n = 93) were not infected. Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, found only in autumn, were infected with Rickettsia raoultii (16 %) and A. phagocytophilum. Three R. sanguineus, on dogs from France and the USA imported into the Netherlands, were all negative.
The tekenscanner app is a versatile tool to use for submission of ticks and facilitated the fast feedback of test results. Community engagement through the app is suitable for identifying hotspots for ticks and tick-borne pathogens and provided an early warning system for exotic ticks invading the Netherlands.
通过智能手机应用程序，可以促进伴侣动物主人参与收集流行病学数据的过程。2018 年 4 月，推出了“tekenscanner”（荷兰语为蜱扫描仪）应用程序，旨在让宠物主人和兽医记录从宠物身上取下的蜱，并提交这些蜱进行鉴定和病原体检测。报告了在荷兰推出该应用程序后的头 6 个月内从狗和猫身上取下的蜱中发现的蜱传病原体。
使用 tekenscanner 应用程序将从狗或猫身上取下的蜱的地理坐标记录在荷兰地图上。为了便于跟踪每个提交给我们实验室进行分类鉴定的蜱，为每个蜱分配了一个条形码。此后，从蜱中提取的 DNA 进行 PCR 扩增，进行反向线杂交（RLB）并筛选广泛的蜱传病原体。结果通常在提交每个蜱后的 2 周内添加到同一个应用程序中。
该应用程序已下载 5591 次，共收集了 1273 个地理参考和带条码的蜱，2018 年 5 月和 6 月达到峰值。从 406 只狗身上采集了 1005 只蜱，从 111 只猫身上采集了 268 只蜱。主要物种是硬蜱（90.0%），在狗和猫身上都发现了所有阶段。还在这两个宿主上发现了伊氏硬蜱（Ixodes hexagonus）（7.3%）雌性和若虫蜱，而只有在狗身上发现了盾板革蜱（Dermacentor reticulatus）（2.4%）和血红扇头蜱（Rhipicephalus sanguineus）（0.2%）成虫。从狗身上回收的蜱中近 15%携带一种或多种病原体，而从猫身上取下的蜱中有 13.8%被感染。从狗身上采集的硬蜱含有螺旋体属（Borrelia spp.）（1.9%）、巴贝斯虫属（Babesia spp.）（0.7%）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体（Anaplasma phagocytophilum）（1.3%）、“候选新立克次体”（"Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis"）（2.9%）和立氏立克次体（Rickettsia helvetica）（7.3%）。从猫身上采集的硬蜱感染了螺旋体属（Borrelia spp.）（1.9%）、巴贝斯虫属（Babesia spp.）（0.4%）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体（A. phagocytophilum）（1.9%）、“候选新立克次体”（"Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis"）（2.6%）和立氏立克次体（R. helvetica）（6.7%）。采集的伊氏硬蜱（Ixodes hexagonus）（n=93）未被感染。仅在秋季发现的盾板革蜱携带拉氏立克次体（Rickettsia raoultii）（16%）和嗜吞噬细胞无形体。从法国和美国进口到荷兰的 3 只血红扇头蜱均为阴性。
tekenscanner 应用程序是提交蜱的多功能工具，并为快速反馈测试结果提供了便利。通过该应用程序进行社区参与，适合识别蜱和蜱传病原体的热点，并为入侵荷兰的外来蜱提供了早期预警系统。
