Parasitized or non-parasitized, why? A study of factors influencing tick burden in roe deer neonates.

Ixodes ricinus , the most common species of tick in Europe, is known to transmit major pathogens to animals and humans such as Babesia spp. or Borrelia spp.. Its abundance and distribution have been steadily increasing in Europe during recent decades, due to global environmental changes. Indeed, as ticks spend most of their life in the environment, their activity and life cycle are highly dependent on environmental conditions, and therefore on climate or habitat changes. Simultaneously, wild ungulates have expanded their range and increased dramatically in abundance worldwide, in particular roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), have allowed tick populations to grow and spread. Currently, tick infestation on newborn wild ungulates is poorly documented. However, newborn ungulates are considered more sensitive to tick bites and pathogen transmission because of their immature immune system. Thus, improving knowledge about the factors influencing tick infestation on newborns is essential to better understand their health risks. This study was conducted at Trois-Fontaines forest, Champagne-Ardenne, France (1992-2018). Based on a long-term monitoring of roe deer fawns, we used a novel Bayesian model of the infestation of fawns to identify which biotic or abiotic factors are likely to modify the level of infestation by ticks of 965 fawns over time. We show that tick burden increased faster during the first days of life of the fawns and became constant when fawns were 5 days old and more, which could be explained by the depletion of questing ticks or the turnover of ticks feeding on fawns. Moreover, the humidity, which favors tick activity, was weakly positively related to the tick burden. Our results demonstrate that tick infestation was highly variable among years, particularly between 2000 and 2009. We hypothesize that this results from a modification of habitat caused by hurricane Lothar.

A Survey of Tick Infestation and Tick-Borne Piroplasm Infection of Cattle in Oudalan and Séno Provinces, Northern Burkina Faso

In this study, cattle farms located in Oudalan and Séno, two provinces in the Sahel region, northern Burkina Faso, were surveyed. Cattle owners were interviewed, cattle were examined for tick infestation, and ticks as well as blood samples were collected during the dry season (October). Blood DNA samples were tested for Babesia and Theileria infections using nested PCRs and sequencing. A total of 22 herds, 174 Zebu cattle were investigated at 6 different sites. Overall, 76 cattle (43.7 %) from 18 farms (81.8%) were found infested with ticks. Cattle in Séno, adult cattle (>5 years) and those owned by the Fulani ethnic group were significantly (p < 0.05) more likely to be tick-infested. A total of 144 adult ticks belonging to five species namely: Hyalomma impeltatum, Hyalomma impressum, Hyalomma rufipes, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, and Rhipicephalus guilhoni were collected from the animals. Piroplasms were detected in the blood DNA of 23 (13.2%) cattle. The cattle in Séno and adult cattle were significantly more likely to be piroplasm-positive. Five pathogens diversely distributed were identified. Theileria mutans (12/174), Babesia bigemina (5/174), Theileria annulata (3/174), and Theileria velifera (3/174) were detected for the first time in northern Burkina Faso, whereas Babesia occultans (1/174) was found for the first time in cattle in West Africa. The analysis of the sequences, including B. bigemina RAP-1a, T. annulata Tams1 genes, and the 18S rRNA genes of all the five protozoa, revealed identities ranging from 98.4 to 100% with previously published sequences. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene sequences located north Burkina Faso piroplasms in the same clade as isolates from Africa and other regions of the world. Notably, T. mutans sequences were distributed in two clades: the T. mutans Intona strain clade and the Theileria sp. (strain MSD)/ Theileria sp. B15a clade, suggesting the presence of at least two strains in the area. These findings indicate that the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases should be taken into account in strategies to improve animal health in the Sahel region.

Survey of External Parasites of Wild Birds in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Aims: As wild birds interact with poultry the likelihood of exchange of external parasites between wild birds and poultry highlights the need to understand wild bird parasites so as to reduce cross infection at the wild bird-poultry interface. There is paucity of data on external parasites of wild birds in Kaduna State, Nigeria. This study investigated the prevalence and diversity of external parasites among wild birds in Kaduna State. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Kaduna State, Nigeria between March, and June 2012. Methodology: Wild birds were captured and examined for external parasites by visual and microscopic examination. The data were analyzed using Quantitative Parasitology software. Results: Of the 233 wild birds representing 56 species and 25 families examined, the ectoparasite prevalence was 10.7% (25/233). The ectoparasites identified were Menacanthus spp (0.9%), Amblyomma variegatum (0.9%), Argas persicus (3.4%), Gonides gigas (2.1%) and Rhipicephalus spp (2.6%). Streptopelia senegalensis and Chalcomitra senegalensis were infested with Amblyomma varigatum while Numida meleagris and Ploceus cucullatus had Rhipicephalus spp. Conclusion: This is the first report to the best of our knowledge of hard tick infestation of free flying birds in Kaduna State. This study establishes baseline data for future study of wild bird host-parasite interaction in Nigeria. There is need for more studies on external parasites of wild birds to understand their impact on the survival of wild bird species in Nigeria.

Is the suckling period and application pattern relevant for fluazuron against tick infestation in cows and their suckling calves?

Background Fluazuron is a chitin synthesis inhibitor administered as a pour-on formulation in cattle for tick control. This study analyzes under endemic tick infestation, the incidence of the pour-on application pattern on the plasma levels of fluazuron in calves and cows in the lactation period of the beef cow. Two hundred and ninety-two beef cows around parturition were treated with a commercial pour-on formulation of fluazuron at a rate of 2.5 mg/kg of body weight. A total of 4 treatments were carried out on days 0, 32, 77, and 117. At each administration time, the cows were grouped according to the pour-on administration pattern: long (~ 60 cm pour-on application surface) and short (~ 30 cm pour-on application surface). Fluazuron levels in cows and calves plasma were determined before the third and fourth application for each subgroup (n = 10) by HPLC-MS/MS. During the entire study, cow-calf pairs were maintained under field conditions and qualitatively examined for tick infestation on the day of each treatment. Both treatments (long and short) schemes were designed to prevent the annual persistence of ticks. Results No animals with presence of ticks were identified during the first 117 days of the study, except for three cows and one calf at the time of the third application (day 77). There were no differences after 40 days (day 77) post-treatment of the second application (30 ± 5 ppb vs. 28.5 ± 12 ppb, p > 0.05) and 45 days (day 117) after the third application (147 ± 55 ppb vs 140 ± 46 ppb, p > 0.05) between groups of cows treated with the long or short pour-on application, respectively. Plasma concentration of fluazuron at second and third application was increased (3.3 and 2.9 times, respectively) in calves under free suckling compared to cows. Nevertheless, both groups of cows and calves showed a significant increase in plasma concentration of fluazuron between times (4.9 times, p < 0.0001 and 2.8 times, p < 0.0001, respectively). In both groups, tick prevalence was 0% throughout the trial, except for day 77, which reached 1%. Conclusions The main conclusions of this study were the following: 1) Different administration patterns (long vs. short) did not differ in plasma levels of fluazuron.; 2) Given that only the cows were treated and lactating calves presented higher plasma levels of fluazuron than cows, passage through milk appears to be relevant and possibly due to a cumulative effect and continuous drug intake.

A Study on prevalence, identification and status of Ixodid (Hard) Ticks Infestation in cattle in and around Honkola Wabe District

Ticks are one of the best known groups of ecto parasites, which affect the cattle production and productivity either by transmitting different tick borne disease or by affecting health of cattle and as well as the quality of hides. Cross-sectional study design was implemented with the objective to estimate the prevalence of tick infestation and to identify the type tick of cattle in and around Honkola-Wabe woreda of Arsi zone of Oromia regional state, from January 2021 to August 2021. 400 cattle (local and cross breed) were selected using simple random sampling from four randomly selected kebeles; and examined for tick infestation and adult tick were collected for tick identification. From these 292(73%) of the animals were infested with different tick species and 108 (27%) of them were free of tick infestation. The highest number of cattle was infested with Amblyomma 160 (40%) followed by Boophilus 71(18%), Rhipicephalus 48 (12%) and Hyalomma 12(3%). There were significant statistically difference between tick infestation prevalence among different factors like breed, age, and sex and body conditions scored. For example, the prevalence rate of tick infested cattle were higher in cross breeds (79.4%) than in local breeds (69.5 %) (χ2=4.57; p=0.033). The result of the current study fills the information gap on prevalence of tick infected cattle of different breeds found in Honkola Wabe area. Tick, therefore, can lead to highly damage the national economic. Thus, in order to provide effective control of tick infestation systematic intervention approach could be implemented that will reduced chance of tick infestation of cattle and thereby improve cattle production.

Identification of tick species infesting livestock in Dera Ismail Khan Pakistan

Ticks are blood-feeding obligate ectoparasites that belong to order Arachnida with three main families (Ixodidae, Argasidae, and Nuttalleillidae). Ticks transmit viral, bacterial, and zoonotic diseases in humans, and animals (wild and domestic). Ticks directly and indirectly affect the livestock industry which plays an important role in the rural economy of Pakistan. These are the main source of income and a source of food for poor people. The current study was conducted to identify the tick species infesting livestock in Dera Ismail Khan Pakistan. For this purpose, different farms were randomly visited and 130 ticks were collected from 200 scanned animals. The collected ticks were identified to species level using morphological keys. In the current study, four tick species were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Hyalomma marginatum, Hyalomma anatolicum, and Dermacentor marginatus were identified. The most dominant species were Hy. anatolicum (35.39%) followed by R. sanguineus (30.00%), Hy. marginatum (23.85%) and D. marginatus (10.77%). Hy. anatolicum was the predominant tick species and accounted for 35.39% of the ticks. Tick infestation was highest in buffaloes followed by cows, sheep, and goats. Tail and ear were the most preferable sites for tick infestation than other body parts.

Prevalence, Distribution, and Molecular Record of Four Hard Ticks from Livestock in the United Arab Emirates

Ticks are important arthropod vectors that serve as reservoirs of pathogens. Rapid urbanization and changes in animal breeding practices could be causing a rise in tick burden on animals. Studies on tick distribution on livestock and tick molecular diversity from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are limited. The aim of this study was to (i) provide molecular and morphological identification of tick species, (ii) compare tick infestation between different hosts, (iii) compare tick infestation in relation to the sex of the host, and (iv) assess the prevalence of tick species on hosts. A total of 5950 ticks were collected from camels (4803 ticks), cows (651 ticks), goats (219 ticks), and sheep (277 ticks). Ticks were identified based on morphological characters at the species level using taxonomic keys. In addition, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes was used to identify ticks. Four species were confirmed based on molecular and morphological characterization, namely, Hyalomma dromedarii, Hyalomma anatolicum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Amblyomma lepidum. Hyalomma dromedarii (94.3%) was the most abundant species, followed by H. anatolicum (32.8%). Camels were heavily infested (94%) with ticks as compared to cows (38%), sheep (37%), and goats (14%). Widespread occurrence of these four tick species in the UAE poses a risk of spreading tick-borne pathogens wherever the conditions of infection prevail.

Survey of Tick Infestations on Pet Dogs in Jalingo Local Government Area, Taraba State

The study investigated the prevalence of tick infestation among pet dogs in Jalingo Metropolis, Taraba State. The study area was fragmented into five study sites namely Kona, Magami Mayo-gwoi, Mile Six and Nukkai areas. Thirty samples were collected from each study sites using random sampling method. The prevalence of ticks infestation on dogs recorded was 80%. Prevalence was significantly different between the sites (χ2 = 13.333, p =0.0098). Amongst the tick genera observed, Ammblyomma had the highest prevalence, 44 (29.3%) followed closely by Ixodes spp., 41 (27.3%), and the least was Dermacentor, 33 (22.0%). Dogs of 108 (72.0%) of the respondent were vaccinated. Dogs of 82 (54.7%) of the respondents received treatment for diseases. Only 71 (47.3%) respondents used medicated soap, acaricide or chemicals to control dog ectoparasites. Attitudes of dog owners contributes directly or indirectly to tick infestation of dogs in Jalingo metropolis.