DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
It is perceived that one of the most frequent problems in canines, at any stage of their life, is the high probability of contracting ticks. These animals are arthropods that belong to the order of mites. There are two families of ticks: soft and hard, the latter being the ones that parasitize our companion animals. Males and females are differentiated, their size varies from a very few millimeters to one centimeter in length, and the coloration, which varies according to the species, can be brownish or grayish brown. They have four pairs of legs and a specialized oral apparatus called the capitulum, which allows them to penetrate the skin and feed on the blood of the animals that act as hosts.
A tick can absorb a minimum amount of blood, which does not seriously affect its host, that is, a dog can bear a minimum amount of said host without any problem, since it is understood that the maximum accommodation time is 1 month and half. But if the ticks are numerous, the animal can become weak and thus begin to suffer serious and important diseases.
The true epidemiological importance of ticks is based on the different possibilities of being able to transmit serious or important diseases for dogs, the most common are: Lyme, the symptoms may take a few weeks or even months to be visible. In this disease there are very wide symptoms and there may be dogs that do not show all. It may be that only one symptom is manifested, such as lameness which is the most common symptom, however, these are the symptoms: recurrent lameness; This is due to inflammation of the canine joints, likewise, arthritis and deformation in the joints, sensitivity to the touch, muscle aches, and inflammation or irritation, fever, lack of appetite or depression is generated in the area of the bite. and in one of its worst cases, carditis or inflammation of the heart.
Another canine disease is anaplasmosis, which causes flu-like symptoms in our dog. High fever is the main effect, and it can be accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting, and inflammation and paralysis in the joints.
Babeosis is a disease that causes gradual anemia in the dog; It also has as characteristic symptoms fever and a yellow discoloration in the body tissues of the dog. The yellowing is caused by a rise in bilirubin in the blood.
The species of tick to be treated in this research is of the hard type and its scientific name is Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Rs), better known as the brown tick, which does not limit itself to staying on dogs, it also adheres to people and other animals.
In canines these parasites are commonly found behind the ears, between the toes, while young ticks are located on the rear of the animal.
Ticks, by adapting well in urban environments, inclusive, they and their larvae are capable of living up to 8 months without food (host), they can dominate accidental infections in humans. Rather, they tend to climb walls and move to neighboring areas. "(Roque, 2016)