Population dynamics of ticks infesting horses in north-west Tunisia.

Abstract

A preliminary study was carried out to examine the population dynamics of ticks on 24 pure Arabian horses. The horses were monitored monthly over one year in the Ghardimaou region of north-west Tunisia. A total of 120 adult ticks were collected and identified, leading to the estimation of different parasitological indicators. The ticks belonged to a single genus (Hyalomma) and three species: H. scupense (59%), H. marginatum (28%) and H. excavatum (13%) (p < 0.001). The mean infestation prevalence was 29.5%; the highest prevalence was observed for H. scupense (41.7%) (p < 0.05). The mean overall intensity of infestation was0.3 ticks/horse. The highest mean intensity was observed with H. scupense (0.6 ticks/horse) and the highest individual intensity measurement was observed for H. scupense (1.1 ticks/animal). The mean annual abundance of ticks was 0.1 ticks/animal. There was no significant correlation between a horse's age and the number of ticks (p > 0.05), but the proportion of ticks on mares was significantly higher than that on males: 65.0% and 35.0%, respectively (p < 0.05). To the authors' knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study of tick dynamics in North African horses.