Tick paralysis: development of a vaccine

The paralysis tick of Australia, Ixodes holocyclus, causes a severe toxicos is in domestic animals such as dogs and cats, livestock, and in some cases, humans. II is characterised by a rapidly ascending flaccid paralysis. The causative agent of the toxicosis is a neurotoxin(s) produced in the tick sa livary glands. The current treatment for tick paralysis is in the form of a polyclonal dog antiserum. This antiserum treatment is expensive and effect ive only in the early stages of paralysis. The aim of current research is t o develop a recombinant veterinary vaccine based on the tick neurotoxin pep tide sequence. A successful vaccine would provide cost-effective, long-term protective immunity against tick-induced paralysis. (C) 1999 Australian So ciety for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.