Hilary Hurd
Coordinating EditoratBugBitten
Hilary is Professor Emeritus of Parasitology at Keele University, UK, having retired at the end of 2013. Her research interests have revolved around parasites transmitted by insects and their interactions with their vectors. She was Director of the Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology at Keele for over ten years and served as President of the British Society for Parasitology.
Latest posts by Hilary Hurd(see all)
- Linking a disease to knowledge of its vector: River blindness and black flies- 12th November 2021
- Is toxoplasmosis a COVID risk factor?- 8th October 2021
- fo疟疾疫苗:一个新的方法r an old idea- 16th July 2021
BugBitten:A blog for theparasites and vectorscommunity
- Most read
- Most shared
Dear Lawrence,
Thank you for the information concerning the enclosure of the meadow. That is good news.
I have been unable to find any evidence that B. canis can infect badgers so I think you have nothing to worry about. This species appears to be specific to dogs. However other species of Babesia do infect badgers. You might be interested in this articlehttps://www.blogsanidadanimal.com/EU/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/11_BARANDIKA.pdf.
Dear Prof. Hilary Hurd,
Thank you for the reply and the link.
I only did Biology, Physics and Chemistry to “A” Level so it will take me a little study to grasp this. What is immediately interresting is the new piroplasm related to B. Vulpes found in a badger in Spain. (Gimenez et al 2009).
It seems that it does not take much of a change in the genotype of a piriplasm for the phenotype to cross the species boundary.
Do you know if there is anything sensible that can be done with a tick infested area, or would you have to exterminate all the arachnids in the area; would insects be affected, such as honey bees.
Harlow is a Garden Town similar to Milton Keynes with much green areas and many nature reserves within the town, consequently dog ownership is quite high.
I will raise this at the next Harlow Diversity Group meeting as well as the Badger Group.
Thanks again
Laurence Norwin-Allen