Tick-borne diseases of bovines in Pakistan: major scope for future research and improved control.

Hafiz A Saddiqi,Abdul Jabbar,Zia-Ud-Din Sandhu,Robin B Gasser,Tariq Abbas,Muhammad F Qamar

doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0894-2

Abstract

Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) affect the productivity of bovines in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, leading to a significant adverse impact on the livelihoods of resource-poor farming communities. Globally, four main TBDs, namely anaplasmosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, and cowdriosis (heartwater) affect bovines, and the former three are of major economic importance in bovines in Pakistan. Given that the livestock sector has become an integral part of Pakistan’s economy and a large number of dairy cattle are being imported into the country, in order to meet an increasing demand of milk and milk products, it is timely to review current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan and to identify gaps in the knowledge of TBDs and their control. Although there has been a recent increase in the number of studies of TBDs in this country, information on their prevalence, distribution, tick vectors, and control is limited. This article provides a brief background on key bovine TBDs and ticks and reviews the current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of these diseases, propose areas for future research and draw attention to the need for improved tools for the diagnosis and control of TBDs in this country.

Highlights

Livestock plays a pivotal role in Pakistan’s economy by uplifting the socioeconomic conditions of resource-poor farming communities and alleviating poverty
Atif et al [60] used, for the first time, a serological assay to estimate the prevalence of Anaplasma infection or exposure in cattle in Pakistan using the MSP-5 competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA), surprisingly, these authors did not mention the overall seroprevalence in their paper
Conclusions and future scope Most previous studies of bovine anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and theileriosis in Pakistan have (i) estimated the prevalence of these tick-borne diseases (TBDs) in one or more districts around major veterinary research institutions or on public livestock research stations using conventional diagnostic methods, (ii) evaluated the efficacy of various drugs against these diseases, or (iii) assessed changes in haematological and biochemical parameters in water buffaloes and cattle affected by these three TBDs

Summary

Introduction

Livestock plays a pivotal role in Pakistan’s economy by uplifting the socioeconomic conditions of resource-poor farming communities and alleviating poverty. Being located in a subtropical zone (30° N, 70° E) within South Asia, most parts of Pakistan offer favourable environmental conditions for ticks, which can infest a variety of hosts and transmit diseases to humans, livestock, and companion animals. Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) cause substantial economic losses in bovines, in tropical, and subtropical regions, where 80 % of the world’s total cattle population occurs [4], and can significantly affect the livelihoods of resource-poor farming communities due to lower productivity of both beef and dairy cattle in these regions [5, 6]. Theileria species infect primarily wild and domestic ruminants, and cause economically significant diseases in cattle, sheep, and goats. T. annulata causes a severe, potentially fatal disease in cattle, leading to significant economic losses in endemic countries in Africa and Asia, and is mainly transmitted by ticks of the genus Hyalomma [14]. Tropical theileriosis can be treated with the specific anti-Theileria drugs, such as buparvaquone, and parvaquone [14]

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