"Tick fever" was mentioned in Egyptian papyrus scrolls as early as 1550 B.C.
Homer, in around 850 B.C., referred to the occurrence of ticks on Odysseus' dog. His dog, Argus, apparently resembled a greyhound, and Argus is now the name of a genus of soft-ticks (also known as Argasid ticks) but see note.
Cato, Aristotle and Pliny referred to ticks as "disgusting parasitic animals which were very troublesome" (Obenchain and Galun, Eds, 1982).
One of the earliest Australian references to ticks as a problem in human disease is found in the journal kept by Capt William Hilton Howell for his 1824-1825 journey from Lake George to Port Phillip. In this he remarked on "the small insect called the tick, which buries itself in the flesh, and would in the end destroy either man or beast if not removed in time" (Howell, 1921, and Scott, 1921).
James Backhouse, a well-travelled Quaker of the early colonial period, gives the following account (Backhouse, 1843): "At Colongatta, in Shoal Haven...district, which, like that of Illawarra, is much more favourable for the grazing of horned cattle than for sheep. Among the enemies of the latter in these rich, coast lands, is the Wattle Tick, a hard flat insect of a dark colour, about the tenth of an inch in diameter, and nearly circular, in the body; it insinuates itself beneath the skin, and destroys, not only sheep, but sometimes foals and calves. Paralysis of the hind quarters often precedes death in these cases. Sometimes it occasions painful swellings, when forcibly removed from the human body, after having fixed its anchorlike head and appendages in the skin. To prevent this inconvenience, we several times, made them let go their hold, by smearing them over with oil, or with wet tobacco ashes."
Whilst pioneering settlers knew that ticks posed a threat to their dogs and perhaps to themselves, the Australian paralysis tick was not scientifically identified until 1899 (by Neumann). It was further studied by Nuttall and Warburton (1911). By 1921 Dodd had established a definitive link between Ixodes holocyclus and clinical disease in three dogs. He found that it took 5 to 6 days from time of attachment for clinical signs to develop, with motor paralysis being the major neurological deficit. The life cycle was studied chiefly by Ross (1924) and Oxer and Ricardo (1942) and later summarised by Seddon (1951). Ian Clunies Ross (1924) also demonstrated that a toxin produced by the tick was responsible for the paralysis and not some infective agent carried by the ticks.
The first confirmed human death due to tick poisoning in Australia was reported in 1912 (Cleland) when a large engorged tick caused flaccid paralysis in a child, progressing to asphyxiation. Headstones at the Cooktown cemetery also reveal how some human deaths were attributed to ticks (NTPF Bulletin 1, 1999).
In the first half of the 20th century at least 20 human deaths had been attributed to the paralysis tick. Eighty percent of the victims reported in NSW between 1904 and 1945 were children aged under four years. Many cases of "infantile paralysis" (later known as poliomyelitis) may well have been misdiagnosed and actually been cases of tick paralysis (Aust. Dangerous Creatures, 1991). Because of the availability of modern intensive care facilities human deaths would now be very rare. In most cases humans would be supported until the effects of the toxin subsided. The use of antitoxin (derived from dogs) is reserved for the most severe cases.
Note:
The ultimate origin of the tick genus Argus is a little confusing.
Argus Panoptes (Greek for 'all seeing') was the figure in Greek legend described variously as the son of Inachus, Agenor, or Arestor or as an aboriginal hero (autochthon). His surname derives from the hundred eyes in his head or all over his body. Argus was appointed by the goddess Hera to watch the cow into which Io (Hera's priestess) had been transformed, but he was slain by Hermes. His eyes were transferred by Hera to the tail of the peacock. This Argus was often confused with the son of Niobe who gave his name to the city of Argos (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2002).
The argus pheasant is a large brilliantly patterned East Indian pheasant. The common species (A. giganteus) is remarkable for the great length and beauty of the wing and tail feathers of the male. The species (A. Grayi) inhabits Borneo.
In Greek myth the Argo was the ship in which Jason sailed in search of the Golden Fleece.