Preliminary Study on Ixodid Ticks Population of the Akagera National Park in Rwanda

Nahayo Adrien,Nshimiyimana Juvenal,Byukusenge Maurice,Linden Annick

doi:10.19026/ijava.5.5588

Abstract

In Rwanda and subtropical African region in general, tick-borne diseases are regarded as one of the main threats of animal and human health. In this study we assessed the ixodids population in Akagera national park which can harbored by wild animals. In August and September, 2011 and 2012, ticks were collected on vegetation in three sites located in Akagera national park by flagging method. Within a total of 204 ticks collected, three species including Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Hyalomma truncatum and Amblyomma variegatum were identified. The Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was predominant with 90.3% followed by Amblyomma variegatum and Hyalomma truncatum with 5.1 and 4.5% of specimen sampled respectively. The results reported herein prove at the first time that the wild animal of Akagera national park are exposed to the tick and to the tick-borne diseases transmitted by these ones. Moreover, in this case, the wild animals of this park can act as reservoirs of those diseases for livestock and/or human in this region.

Highlights

Within the framework of the Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), the tourism sector expanded rapidly during the two last decades
More than 525 of 702 migratory bird species known to reside or stay occasionally in Rwanda are found in this park (Vandeweghe, 2011). This in 2010 the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the African parks network agreed to set a strategic plan for the joint management of Akagera national park in order to make it one of the best national parks in the world (RDB, 2011)
The aim of this study was to make an inventory of the ixodid tick species which parasite the wild animal in the Akagera national park

Summary

Introduction

Within the framework of the Rwanda’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS), the tourism sector expanded rapidly during the two last decades. More than 525 of 702 migratory bird species known to reside or stay occasionally in Rwanda are found in this park (Vandeweghe, 2011) This in 2010 the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the African parks network agreed to set a strategic plan for the joint management of Akagera national park in order to make it one of the best national parks in the world (RDB, 2011). Apart from this fauna rich in diverse mammals, this region is known to be home of endemic various tick species and tsetse fly (Bazarusanga et al, 2007) with alarming consequences on health and management of the animals in the park. The ticks of genus Rhipicephalus have been reported sub-Saharian African

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