Infection rates with Cowdria ruminantium of nymphs and adults of the bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum collected in the field in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Cowdria ruminantium (heartwater) infection rates of field populations of the bont tick, Amblyomma hebraeum, were determined at two locations in the southern lowveld of Zimbabwe, At Mbizi Quarantine Station, unfed adult males and females, and nymphs were collected at intervals over a 2-year period using traps. At Lemco Ranch, engorged nymphs were collected on three occasions from weaner calves and allowed to moult to adults. The unfed ticks were fed in small pools on heartwater-susceptible sheep, some of which became infected. The infection rates of the ticks were then estimated statistically. Depending on the date of collection and locality, these rates were in the range 0.0–44.9% for males, 20.0–36.1% for females and 0.0–13.4% for nymphs. Most of these rates are considerably higher than those previously believed to occur.