VECTOR SITUATION OF TICK-BORNE DISEASES IN THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

The most important ticks transmitting diseases to ruminants in the Caribbean islands are: Amblyomma variegatum, vector of cowdriosis and associated with acute dermatophilosis; Amblyomma cajennense, potential vector of cowdriosis; Boophilus microplus, vector of babesiosis and anaplasmosis. At the present time, Amblyomma variegatum is widespread in the Lesser Antilles from Barbados to Puerto Pico. The intensity of the tick control program varies in the different islands and the tick infestation in each island ranges from limited foci to widespread infestations. The vector situation appeared stable since 1988 in the Lesser Antilles but the outbreak in 1992 in Puerto Rico emphasized the risk of spread to other islands and to the American mainland, particularly with cattle egrets. Cowdriosis remains apparently limited to Guadeloupe and Antigua. Amblyomma cajennense, experimental vector of cowdriosis, is present in Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad but also in most American countries. Boophilus microplus is widespread throughout the Caribbean. Its presence and importance are often indirectly estimated by the clinical and serological diagnosis of babesiosis and anaplasmosis. There is no correlation between the intensity of Amblyomma variegatum control in each island of the Lesser Antilles and the effect on the Boophilus microplus population measured by the seroprevalence to babesiosis and anaplasmosis, but within the island of Martinique a regular Amblyomma variegatum control decreases the seroprevalences to babesiosis and anaplasmosis.