Rising cases of tick fever in India

NEW DELHI: The increase in the number of blood-sucking parasites is threatening the lives of pets in the city. According to veterinarians, a number of dogs, mostly pedigreed ones, are being diagnosed with vector-borne tick fever. The disease is often fatal and vets say that there are not enough medicines in India with proven results against Asian genotype infection. Cases have been observed in the west, where the disease is transmitted to humans also, say doctors.

Tick fever is transmitted through ticks that are found mainly in green areas like parks. These parasites attach themselves to the pet and transmit the disease, which is further spread to other animals. Due to delay in diagnosis and the unavailability of medicines, the number of deaths are increasing.