The following information is copied from the AKC/CHF website
About the Tick-Borne Disease Research Initiative
The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) Tick-Borne Disease Research Initiative was created in 2016 to address the growing threat of tick-borne disease to canine and human health. Disease occurs when ticks infected with a pathogen directly bites a dog or human and transmit the pathogen into the body. Many tick-borne pathogens infect dogs and can also infect humans. The geographic distribution of ticks is spreading and can change yearly by season and region of the United States. CHF is taking a One Health action to address the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of tick-borne disease. The most important tick-borne diseases of dogs are Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Hepatozoonosis, Babesiosis, Bartonellosis, Hemotropic Mycoplasmosis, and Lyme disease. All can have serious health consequences, and infection rates have been on the rise over the past five years. The feeding time required for disease transmission from a tick to a dog or person can be as little as 3 – 6 hours!
Since 1995, CHF and its donors have invested more than $1.1M in 16 grants to study tick-borne disease. Current grants explore better methods to detect tick-borne diseases and recognize new pathogens, plus improve our understanding of how ticks locate dog hosts and how the canine immune system responds to tick-borne infections.
$1.1M invested in tick-borne disease research since 1995.
Why Study It?
- The geographical range of tick species in North America is expanding
- The incidence of tick-borne diseases reported in dogs and humans continues to rise
- To understand why some infected dogs remain asymptomatic, while others develop life-threatening illness
- Dogs infected with tick-borne disease agents can act as sentinels for the same diseases in people
- Accurate diagnosis of co-infections (simultaneous infection with multiple vector-borne organisms) will facilitate early and comprehensive treatment
- Understanding which immune cells are responsible for the successful cure of a tick-borne infection may provide a target for treatment in all infected dogs
- Prevention is key for tick-borne disease; Strategies to improve tick control will improve the health of dogs and humans living in at-risk areas
Our Progress So Far
Current CHF-Funded Studies
The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) believes in the advancement of science to meet the unmet medical needs of the dogs that are such an important part of our daily lives. Here we list the important active studies in this research program area.
| 02983 | Enhanced Detection and Characterization of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia Species in Dogs and Ticks with Focus on a Novel Rickettsia Species Infecting Clinically Ill Dogs in the U.S. |
| 02981 | Genome-wide Identification and Characterization of Peptide Epitopes from Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma platys with Potential to be Used as Vaccine Candidates |
| 02978-A | Babesia Species in Thrombocytopenic Dogs in the Upper Midwest, USA |
| 02831 | Mechanisms of NK(T) Cell Mediated Inflammation during Canine Lyme Disease |
| 02819 | Identification of Bartonella henselae In Vivo Induced Antigens for Development of a Reliable Serodiagnostic Assay for Canine Bartonelloses |
| 02519 | Prevalence of Bartonella spp. Infection in Dogs with Cardiac and Splenic Hemangiosarcomas within and between Geographic Locations |