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

蜱传疾病在美国越来越重要。大多数（75%）病媒传播疾病是 蜱传播，人类蜱传播疾病的数量正在稳步增加，已知蜱的地理范围 媒介正在扩大，至少有七种新的蜱传病原体已被证明可以感染人类。 美国在过去二十年。所有蜱传疾病都是人畜共患的，是蜱传疾病的延续 取决于蜱对非人类脊椎动物宿主的寄生。在美国，脊椎动物的水库 人类蜱传疾病主要是啮齿动物。需要针对啮齿动物宿主的有效战略， 有助于打破人畜共患病的传播周期，降低美国蜱传疾病的发病率。这 该提案利用兽医学的最新进展解决了这一需要。一类新的 市售的用于狗的口服兽药（即，异恶唑啉类药物）表现出速效、长效 对以异恶唑啉处理的动物为食的蜱的杀螨活性。因为这些 药物杀死蜱后，附着到治疗的动物，异恶唑啉药物也可以阻止蜱传播细菌 病原体给药犬。这个试验项目将测试这些药物的功效和阻断传播的能力。 当口服给两种已知是莱姆病天然宿主的啮齿动物时， 达科他-白足鼠和红背田鼠。如果口服异恶唑啉类药物 这些啮齿动物的水库物种以及已报告的狗，那么阶段将设置寻求资金 为更大的R 01项目，并实施区域范围的实地试验，将异恶唑啉药物纳入口服诱饵 制剂，以清除啮齿动物宿主的蜱虫，破坏人畜共患病传播周期，并含有 莱姆病在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.