Abstract
Aim:The red jungle fowl is generally considered as one of the endangered Asian wild Galleopheasants due to man-made encroachment of their habitats, coupled with the effect of disease and disease causing organisms like ticks and tick-borne infections. This study aimed to determine the tick fauna of the red jungle fowl and their predilection sites based on developmental stages.Materials and Methods:A total of 33 jungle fowls were sampled for this study from Bangi area of Selangor State, Peninsular Malaysian. The birds were captured using a locally made trap made-up of loops and bites. Ticks present on their bodies were detached using fine forceps and identified morphologically under a dissecting microscope.Results:91% of the jungle fowls were infested with ticks, all of which belongs to the species Haemaphysalis wellingtoni. The ear region appeared to be the most common predilection site (63%) for all the developmental stages in which the larval stages are solely restricted to that region. Nymphal and adult stages were distributed on the comb, wattle, and facial region in addition to the ear region.Conclusion:This study was the first in its kind and showed a high prevalence of tick infestation among jungle fowls. H. wellingtoni was known to be a vector in transmission of many tick-borne pathogens. Therefore, there is the need for further investigation to identify the various pathogens associated with this tick.
Highlights
Ticks are one of the most important ectoparasites of red jungle fowl
H. wellingtoni was known to be a vector in transmission of many tick-borne pathogens
A total of 33 jungle fowls from both sexes and age groups were sampled for the presence of ticks and their predilection sites based on developmental stages of the ticks collected
Summary
Ticks are one of the most important ectoparasites of red jungle fowl They are found attached to different parts of the body sucking blood and increasing the risk of infection to various microorganisms in humans and animals [1,2,3]. An important distinguishing feature between the two is the presence of a white ear patch in the subspecies G.g. gallus (Figure-1a and b) while the subspecies G.g. spadiceus has a red ear patch (Figure-2a and -b). They are cosmopolitan in distribution and more common to the foot of the Himalayas (Northeast India), southern China and down to the Southeast Asian region [8,10]. One distinctive characteristic of this species as compared to other galleopheasants family is that the male does not take part in the incubation of eggs or rearing of the younger ones [11]
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