Novel application of isoxazoline veterinary drugs to streamline reservoir-targeted abatement of tick-borne zoonoses

壁虱传播的疾病在美国越来越重要。大多数(75%)的媒介传播疾病是 壁虱传播，人类壁虱传播疾病的数量正在稳步增加，已知壁虱的地理范围 媒介正在扩大，至少有七种新的扁虱传播的病原体被证明可以感染 在过去的二十年里，美国。所有硬体动物传播的疾病都是人畜共患病，并且是硬体动物传播疾病的永久延续。 依赖于非人类脊椎动物宿主的扁虱寄生。在美国，脊椎动物的水库 人类扁虱传播的疾病主要是啮齿动物。需要针对鼠类水库的有效策略来 帮助打破人畜共患病的传播循环，降低美国硬虱传播疾病的发病率。这 该提案通过利用兽医学的最新进展来满足这一需求。一个新的阶层 狗用口服兽药(即异恶唑啉类药物)显示出快速、持久的效果 对以异恶唑啉处理的动物为食的扁虱的杀螨活性。因为它们的速度很快 药物附着在被治疗的动物身上后杀死壁虱，异恶唑啉类药物还可以阻断壁虱细菌的传播 病原体给治疗过的狗。这一试点项目将测试这些设备的有效性和传播阻断能力 给两种已知为北方莱姆病天然宿主的啮齿动物口服药物 达科他州--白脚老鼠和红背田鼠。如果口服异恶唑啉类药物在 这些鼠类以及蓄水池中已有犬只的报告，则将为筹款做好准备 用于更大的R01项目，并实施区域范围的现场试验，将异恶唑啉药物纳入口服诱饵 配方，以消除鼠类蓄水池的扁虱，扰乱人畜共患病的传播周期，并遏制 莱姆病在整个北达科他州向西传播。

Tick-borne diseases are of increasing importance in the USA. The majority (75%) of vector-borne diseases is tick-borne, the number of human tick-borne illnesses is steadily increasing, the geographic range of known tick vectors is expanding, and at least seven new tick-borne pathogens have been shown to infect people in the USA within the last two decades. All tick-borne diseases are zoonotic and perpetuation of tick-borne diseases depends on tick parasitism of non-human vertebrate reservoirs. In the USA, the vertebrate reservoirs for human tick-borne disease are primarily rodents. Effective strategies targeting rodent reservoirs are needed to help break the zoonotic transmission cycles and lower the incidence of tick-borne diseases in the USA. This proposal addresses that need by taking advantage of recent advances in veterinary medicine. A new class of orally-administered veterinary drug marketed for dogs (i.e., isoxazoline drugs) displays fast-acting, long-lasting acaricidal activity against ticks that feed on isoxazoline-treated animals. Because of the speed by which these drugs kill ticks after attaching to treated animals, isoxazoline drugs can also block tick transmission of bacterial pathogens to treated dogs. This pilot project will test the efficacy and transmission-blocking abilities of these drugs when given orally to two species of rodents known to be natural reservoirs of Lyme disease in North Dakota – the white-footed mouse and the red-backed vole. If orally administered isoxazoline drugs work in these rodent reservoir species as well as has been reported in dogs, then the stage will be set to seek funds for a larger R01 project and implement a regional-wide field trial, incorporating isoxazoline drugs in an oral bait formulation to rid rodent reservoirs of their ticks, disrupt zoonotic transmission cycles, and contain the westward spread of Lyme disease across North Dakota.