An analysis of companion animal tick encounters as revealed by photograph‐based crowdsourced data

Abstract

Background: Community science is increasingly utilized to track important vectors of companion animal disease, providing a scalable, cost-effective strategy for identifying new foci, changing phenology, and disease prevalence across wide geographies. Objectives:We examined photographs of ticks found attached to predominately dogs and cats reported to a photograph-based tick surveillance program to identify potential areas for improvements in tick prevention education and risk intervention. Methods:We compared estimated days of tick attachment using a Kruskal-Wallis oneway analysis of variance, and a Pearson's chi-square analysis of variance on the number of submissions by host type submitted for each season. Results:The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) was the most common species reported (39.8%). Tick photographs submitted were almost entirely adults (89.5%), and ticks found on companion animals exhibited an estimated median engorgement time of 2.5 days. Ixodes scapularis displayed the highest median engorgement of the top tick species found feeding on companion animals (χ 2 = 98.96, p < 0.001). Ticks were spotted year-round; during spring and summer, ticks collected from pets represented 15.4 and 12.8% of all submissions, but increased to 28.5 and 35.2% during autumn and winter, respectively.Conclusions: Crowdsourced data reveal that mostly adult ticks are detected on pets, and they are found at a point in the blood-feeding process that puts pets at heightened risk for disease transmission. The increase in proportion of ticks found on pets during colder months may reveal a critical knowledge gap amongst pet owners regarding seasonal activity of I. scapularis, a vector of Lyme disease, providing an opportunity for prevention-education.

Community engaged tick surveillance and tickMAP as a public health tool to track the emergence of ticks and tick-borne diseases in New York

“…Community-surveillance programs have often been used to track the emergence and persistence of tick populations and tick-borne pathogens [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. These vary in scale and methodology.…”

“…These vary in scale and methodology. In some cases, the ticks themselves are not collected, with information being instead gained from photographs of ticks submitted for identification [60,65]. This process, although requiring less reagent and processing investment, relies heavily on the quality of the photographs taken especially with regard to fine-detail necessary for species identification within a genus [69] but can be more accessible to users unwilling to handle or mail tick samples.…”

All for One Health and One Health for All: Considerations for Successful Citizen Science Projects Conducting Vector Surveillance from Animal Hosts

“…Given that physical specimen collection and submission can be costly to researchers and/or citizen scientists, another option to collect data points include the use of citizen-submitted images through a mobile device application (“app”) or website, where photos can be used for vector surveillance. The use of digital technology and big data for vector surveillance in human and animal populations has been increasing throughout Australia, Europe, and North America [ 7 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ], however, only one study used digital technology to conduct vector surveillance among animals from people who have professional companion animal access [ 35 ]. The study evaluated the feasibility of images submitted by veterinarians for Ixodes scapularis surveillance in Quebec, Canada.…”

“…With nearly 85% of the adult population owning a smartphone, which have ever increasing camera capabilities [ 52 ], images submitted by animal owners is another option to collect data for vector surveillance [ 27 , 28 ]. These studies reinforced the idea that tick identifications via crowdsourced images can be used as a tool for risk assessment and tick monitoring on companion animals across large geographic scales as well as identifying hotspots for tick activity that put humans and their animals at risk for tick-borne diseases [ 27 , 28 ]. This provides a cost-effective choice for arthropod vector collection from animals by citizen scientists.…”

“…The benefits of working with animal owners are similar to those working with citizen scientists who have professional companion animal access, including monitoring trends of vectors and VBDs over extensive periods of time [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 49 ]. One unique benefit is that human risk for arthropod bites from their pets can be evaluated based on pet ownership [ 30 ] in addition to arthropod bite risk for companion animals [ 28 ]. Additionally, the number of targeted animal hosts can be increased since animal owners are not limited to the types of pets they can own, assuming that the pets fall within government regulations.…”