Abstract
The reported study was carried out from October 2014 to January 2015 and involved 622 cattle belonging to a dairy farm in North Tunisia. Each animal was examined once for the presence of lice. The infestation prevalence was estimated at 14.3% (89/622). Three louse species were collected: Linognathus vituli (2.7%), Haematopinus eurysternus (11.4%) and Bovicola bovis (0.8%). The co-infestation prevalence was 0.6% and concerned only B. bovis and L. vituli, collected from four calves (three males and one female). Calves were infested by the three species, L. vituli (17.5%), B. bovis (5.2%) and H. eurysternus (1.0%), whereas adults were only infested by H. eurysternus (13.3%). All H. eurysternus parasites were found on the tail of the animals, whereas L. vituli was present on the whole body. B. bovis infested the anterior body parts, mainly the dorsal region (60%) (p < 0.05). Clinical signs were observed only in calves under six months. The infested calves showed pruritus (63%) and depilation (37%).
Highlights
Cattle production represents a very important economic activity in all African countries, allowing both daily and occasional cash income to rural populations
The co-infestation prevalence was 0.6% and concerned B. bovis and L. vituli collected in four calves (Table I)
Calves were infested by the three species (L. vituli: 17.5%; B. bovis: 5.2%; H. eurysternus: 1.0%), whereas adults were only infested by H. eurysternus (13.3%)
Summary
Cattle production represents a very important economic activity in all African countries, allowing both daily (milk sale) and occasional (animal sale) cash income to rural populations. Animal breeding significantly decreases because of rural depopulation, an important problem in all African countries. The cattle industry is still facing several health problems in Africa. Endemic parasitic diseases (ectoparasites, gastrointestinal and hemoparasitic infections), which induce lower losses but may concern a high percentage of the population and may last for several years (sometimes the whole life of the animal) are often neglected. Animals infested by ectoparasites are not considered sick and they do not receive specific health care.
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