Abstract
Cattle from arid north which graze at Amansea in southern Nigeria were thought to introduceticks in the new area. Burden, seasonality, sex ratio and preferred sites of ticks on cattle were studied in late wet season of 2012 and early dry season of 2013 at Amansea. Cattle (n=200) were randomly selected and examined both visually and manualy for tick infestation. Genera Amblyomma, Boophilus, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus species constituted 69.6; 11.9; 13.8 and 7 percentagesof all ticks encountered, at 2.87 ticks per infested cattle. Wet and dry seasons accounted for 68% and 32% of the ticks, generally in ratio of 1.9♂:1♀. Preferred sites were in descending order of magnitude; scrotum\udder, tail, back, fore leg, neck, ear, dewlap, groin, head (face), brisket, belly, shoulder, side, hind leg and escutcheon (χ2=175.8472, df =42, P<0.01). Potential tick-bites areas which abound in Amansea are risk factors fortick-borne diseases (TBD) known to be transmitted by ticks in West Africa. Results from this study will create public awareness on TBD and may be useful in evidence-based policy decisions on restriction of cattle movement, tick control and surveillance of TBD in the area.
Highlights
Ticks are cosmopolitan but are more prevalent in warmer climates [1] especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas where they are ectoparasites responsible for severe economic losses and impact on the productivity of indigenous cattle under ranch conditions [2] due to their ability to transmit protozoan, Rickettsial and viral diseases [3]
Potential tick-bites areas which abound in Amansea are risk factors fortickborne diseases (TBD) known to be transmitted by ticks in West Africa
The present study focused on burden, seasonality, sex ratio and preferred sites of ticks found on cattle at Amansea, south-eastern Nigeria with the aim that data generated from will be used to create awareness on health hazards associated with unrestricted cattle movement and ticks in an environment
Summary
Ticks are cosmopolitan but are more prevalent in warmer climates [1] especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas where they are ectoparasites responsible for severe economic losses and impact on the productivity of indigenous cattle under ranch conditions [2] due to their ability to transmit protozoan, Rickettsial and viral diseases [3]. Tick-bites in humans could result in tick-borne infectious diseases, e.g., human babesiosis [4] and severe toxic conditions such as. In Nigeria, the nomadic system of grazing exposes cattle to ticks infestation [9] by at least four genera of ticks, Amblyomma, Boophilus, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus species [3] which transmit pathogens that cause important tick-borne diseases (TBD) of cattle [9]which may be transmitted to humans through infective tick-bites. It has been observed that unrestricted movement of livestock in search of water and pasture increases and promotes tick-host contact and could result to high prevalence of tick infestation among cattle [10]
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