Category: Parasitic Diseases

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Tick-borne Diseases Can Affect Humans, Wildlife and Pets

By Nelda A. Rivera and Nohra Mateus-Pinilla

“Most tick-borne diseases that affect humans can also affect wildlife, as well as dogs, cats and other domestic animals. However, which animal species will be affected will depend on the specific pathogen the tick vector is carrying.”

Maps showing an estimated 30 percent of serologic results for Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis in dogs and cats. The estimates are for the U.S. and Illinois from January to June 2025. Maps adapted from the Companion Animal Parasite Council website. Adaptation of information for this Illustration courtesy of Dr. Nelda A. Rivera, Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory (INHS-PRI).

If you are interested in learning about the ticks found in Illinois, what diseases they can transmit to humans and your furry friends, as well as how to protect yourself your dogs and cats from tick bites, check the article “Tick-borne Diseases Can Affect Humans, Wildlife and Pets” published in the August edition of the Outdoor Illinois Journal [here].

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HAEMOSPORIDIAN PARASITES IN ILLINOIS

Are blood parasites found in resident and migratory birds in Illinois?

By Kelsey Martin, Nelda A. Rivera,  Nohra E. Mateus-Pinilla [PDF]

 

Parasitic infections in birds are a significant threat to the health and conservation of avian species. Avian haemosporidian parasites are blood parasites found globally in birds. These blood parasites have a non-specific, broad range of avian hosts and are transmitted by biting vectors that participate in the parasites’ life cycle (Figure 1). For example, Leucocytozoon parasites are transmitted to birds by black flies, and mosquitoes transmit Plasmodium parasites (responsible for malaria) and Haemoproteus parasites. Similar to human malaria, infected birds may develop malaria-like disease,

Continue reading “HAEMOSPORIDIAN PARASITES IN ILLINOIS”

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Cats pass disease to wildlife, even in remote areas | By Diana Yates

Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, left, a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute, with graduate student Shannon Fredebaugh, led a study that found that cats spread disease to wildlife even in remote parts of a 1,500-acre natural area. Mateus-Pinilla is a researcher with the Illinois Natural History Survey, one of the surveys in the PRI. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.
Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, left, a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute, with graduate student Shannon Fredebaugh, led a study that found that cats spread disease to wildlife even in remote parts of a 1,500-acre natural area. Mateus-Pinilla is a researcher with the Illinois Natural History Survey, one of the surveys in the PRI. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.

CHAMPAIGN, lL. – Researchers tracking the spread of Toxoplasma gondii – a parasite that reproduces only in cats but sickens and kills many other animals – have found infected wildlife throughout a 1,500-acre (600-hectare) natural area in central Illinois.

Read the whole story by the University of Illinois News Bureau here.