Abstract
A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors for sheep mange mites and lice infestation in Asella and its surroundings of south eastern Ethiopia, from November, 2009 to April, 2010. The study revealed that 212 (55.21%) of the 384 sheep examined were infested with mange mites or lice in the study area. A higher prevalence of pediculosis (49.5%) was observed compared to mange mite infestation which was rarely observed with prevalence rate of 5.72%. Mange mites genera identified in the present study were Sarcoptes (2.6%), Psoroptes (2.3%), Chorioptes (0.8%) while no Demodex was identified in the study settings of sheep. Pertaining to lice infestation, Bovicola ovis (36.7%) and Linognathus ovillus (16.9%) were the only identified species of lice. A negative association (p>0.05) of mange mites and lice infestation was observed among the sex groups while only lice infestation was positively associated (p 0.05) with different body condition scores as the statistical analysis revealed. The result of this study revealed that as an ever increasing threat of mange mite and lice infestation on overall sheep productivity and tanning industry in Ethiopia warrants urgent control intervention. Hence, to reduce mange mite and lice infestation prevalence and impact on the productivity and health status, planning of integrated control measures with sustainable veterinary services aiming at creating awareness about the importance and control of the ectoparasites for small ruminant’s owners is recommended.
Highlights
Ethiopia with its greatest variation in climate and topography possesses one of the largest small ruminant populations in the world, which is kept extensively mostly by small holder farmers and adjacent to crop production [1,2,3]
Overall prevalence of mange mite and lice infestation in sheep identified in this study
A higher prevalence of pediculosis was observed compared to mange mite infestation which was rarely observed with lower prevalence rate
Summary
Ethiopia with its greatest variation in climate and topography possesses one of the largest small ruminant populations in the world, which is kept extensively mostly by small holder farmers and adjacent to crop production [1,2,3]. Ectoparasites are very common and widely distributed in all agro-ecological zones in Ethiopia [5,6]. They are one of the major hindrances to the productivity of sheep in the country and infestation caused by the ectoparasites could lead to considerable economic losses to farmers due to loss of productivity, mortality, and skin diseases. Among the ectoparasites; lice, sheep keds, ticks, fleas and mange mites causes a great preslaughter defects responsible for downgrading and rejection of skins that confront the productivity of sheep [7]. About 35% of sheep and 56% of goat skin rejections in Ethiopia are attributed to ectoparasites [8] and all these established facts revealed that the ectoparasites pose serious economic losses to the farmer, the tanning industry and the country as a whole [7,9]
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