Impact and Management of Acaricide Resistance- Pertaining to Sustainable Control of Ticks

Abstract

Ticks and tick borne diseases are economically important affecting 80 % of worldÂ’s cattle population and are widely distributed throughout the continents, particularly in the tropics and subtropics. These represent a substantial proportion of all animal diseases affecting the livelihood of poor farmers. The acaricidal treatment of livestock remains the most conveniently effective way to reduce production losses from tick parasitosis and tick-borne pathogens, despite repeated predictions over many decades that this is an unsustainable method. It is supported by the fact that,the global market of acaricide was to be worth around $213.5 million in 2014 and projected to reach $ 275.1 million in 2019. The drawback of using acaricides inconsistently and indiscriminately is the selection of acaricide resistant ticks which makes existing acaricides ineffective and thereby limiting the efficacy of existing tick control methods. Another potential problem associated with use of acaricides is the environmental contamination and the contamination of milk and meat products with chemical residues. Absolute reliance on any of the specific method would not deliver the expected result. Therefore effective control of TTBDs is best achieved through a combination of practices like tick control, prevention of disease through vaccination, and treatment of clinical cases. Tick control methods can be grouped into chemical (using acarcides) and non-chemical methods such as, grooming, pasture spelling (i.e., leaving pastures unstocked to break the tickÂ’s life-cycle), endosymbiotic approach, biological control, genetic manipulation, use of biopesticides, herbal acaricides and vaccination with tick antigens. The type of strategy to be implemented in the different regions of the world will depend on a number of important factors. A sound knowledge of vector ecology and disease epidemiology are of great importance but the nature of the farming system, the general economic situation of the country and socio-economic considerations will also have an important influence in the success of the approach.