The condition is of slight importance. The parasites do not live for more than a few days on the animal’s skin, so that they only produce temporary disturbance.
Treatment consists in bathing the parts with some lotion, such as 2 to 3 per cent. creolin or 2 per cent. chloral, or in applying mixtures of oil and petroleum, etc.
(2.) Ixodes hexagonus, I. ricinus, and other species of the tick family (Ixodidæ) attack sheep, goats, and oxen in France.
Symptoms. In sheep the ixodidæ usually affix themselves at points where the skin is tender and unprotected by wool, as for instance the thighs, armpit, and upper part of the neck. Their bites produce irritation, followed by an intense burning sensation, and the formation of a red blush round the point bitten.
In the ox the ticks fasten on the neck, behind and within the ears, and also wherever the skin is tender. Until the last few years little importance was attached to their development, but since it has been proved that Rhipicephalus annulatus is the active factor in desseminating Texas fever, ticks have attracted much attention.
It seems, moreover, to be proved by the researches of Lignières that a form of piroplasmosis exists in France, and it seems possible that the Ixodes ricinus may be a means of propagation.
The diagnosis of acariasis produced by ticks is easy, for the parasites attain large dimensions.
Prognosis. It is difficult at present to say what importance should be attached to this form of acariasis, but its existence and possible consequences should be noted.
Treatment. Some authors have recommended killing the ticks by touching them with benzine, petroleum, essence of turpentine, etc., but these methods do not always succeed. Applications of concentrated solution of chloral are more effective. When the parasites are so large as to render this possible it is better to remove them by hand, taking care at the same time to remove the rostrum, which, if left in place, might cause more or less suppuration. In countries where ticks are numerous and large numbers of cattle are infested, the parasites are destroyed by smearing and dipping.
