Abstract
IntroductionTicks are non-permanent obligate parasites that have considerable medical-veterinary and zoonosis importance. In this regard a study designed to investigate the distribution and fauna of ticks in the Alashtar county in Iran from April and March 2014.MethodsTicks were collected from livestock farms and facilities from selected rural and geographically location in the Alashtar county. Based morphological characteristics and reference identification keys, ticks were identified.ResultsA total of 549 ticks including 411 hard and 138 soft ticks were found. Ten tick species including Haemaphysalis concinna (0.36%), Haemaphysalis sulcata (0.36%), Hyalomma anatolicum (0.18%), Hyalomma dromedarii (0.18%), Hyalomma marginatum (1.45 %), Hyalomma schulzei (0.36%), Rhipicephalus annulatus (0.18%), Rhipicephalus bursa (28.1%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (43.63%) and Argas persicus (25.2%) were identified. Tick seasonal distribution were 47.26%, 22.63%, 14.96% and 15.15% in the spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The tick distribution was more from plain areas (64.96%) than the mountainous areas (35.04%). The rates of the tick contamination were 97.3% and 2.7% in the traditional and industrial livestock's, respectively. The livestock contamination ranks to the hard ticks were cattle (39.51%), sheep (34.15%) and goats (26.34 %), respectively. Chi-square analysis showed a significant difference among the seasonal distribution of the ticks in the spring, summer and autumn or winter; between the tick distribution in the plain and mountainous areas; and between the traditional and industrial livestock's tick contamination (P < 0.05).ConclusionPresent study proves to change the traditional livestock's to the industrial livestock's. These findings highlight the importance of ticks and shows need to their control and tick pest management.
Highlights
Ticks are non-permanent obligate parasites that have considerable medical-veterinary and zoonosis importance
Present study shows that the rates of the tick contamination were mostly recorded in the traditional livestock's (97.3 %) than industrial livestock's (2.7 %) (Table 4) that is proved to change the traditional livestock's to the industrial livestock's
We identified ten tick species including nine hard (Ixodidae) and one soft tick species (Argasidae)
Summary
Ticks are non-permanent obligate parasites that have considerable medical-veterinary and zoonosis importance. Chi-square analysis showed a significant difference among the seasonal distribution of the ticks in the spring, summer and autumn or winter; between the tick distribution in the plain and mountainous areas; and between the traditional and industrial livestock's tick contamination (P < 0.05). Ticks are non-permanent obligate and the most frequent ectoparasites (ticks, mites, lice and fleas) of the terrestrial vertebrates that have considerable medical-veterinary and zoonosis importance [1, 2] They are a serious threat to animal health and public health in many parts of the world because they are able to direct damages and transmission of parasitic, viral and bacterial pathogens [3, 4]. As much research is being done on a vaccine against the diseases such as development of anti-tick vaccines [10], tick species identifying is important of this aspect in the areas
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
