| Seasonal tick infestation of livestock in Malekan region: geographic approach |
| Paper ID : 1131-3IICE (R1) |
| Authors: |
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Leila Looch Maleki *1, Mohammad Saaid Dayer2, Mostafa Salehi-Vaziri3, parisa Lotfollahi4 1tehran- tarbiat modarres university 2Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Medical sciences, Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology 3Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Pasteur Institute of Iran (IPI); 4Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran |
| Abstract: |
| Introduction: Hard ticks pose serious health and economic damages. They transmit many infectious agents to human and livestock. The blood-sucking ticks inflict immense loses to meat and milk production to animal farms all over the world. This study aimed to investigate geographical distribution of hard ticks in different seasons in Malekan County. Methods and Materials: Ticks were collected from domestic animals in 19 sites distributed in various geographic regions. In total 345 hard ticks were collected from sheep, goats, cows and camels visited 8 times in spring, 8 times in summer, 4 times in fall and once in winter. The ticks were transferred to the Entomological Lab and identified using taxonomic keys. Results: The study showed that out of 157 infested livestock, 3 (2%) were in mountainous regions, 33 (21%) belonged to plateau climates, 116 (74%) were in plain areas and 5 (3%) were migratory camels. Out of 345 collected hard ticks, 13 individuals (4%) belonged to the mountains, 114 individuals (33%) belonged to plateaus, 206 individuals (60%) were obtained from plains and 12 ticks (3%) were on migratory camels. The highest percentage of sheep infestation was recorded in Mobarak-Abad village located in plateau with semi-mountainous climate with 77 infested individuals (22.31%). The lowest percentage of sheep infestation was found in Amir-Ghayeb village of mountainous climate as well as in Bayghot village of semi-mountainous climate, each with 3 ticks (0.86%), respectively. Surveying tick infestation of ruminants in four seasons throughout 2017 to 2018, the maximum number of ticks equal to 198 (57.39%) was collected in July 2018. On the other hand, no ticks were collected.in November, December, January and February 2018. The most abundant species in plain and plateau regions were Dermacentor marginatus and D. niveus comprising 29% and 25% of total catch respectively. The next abundant species (18%) was Rhipicephalus sanguineus which was collected only in plain region. Hyalomma species including Hy. dromedarii, Hy. asiaticum, Hy. detritum and Hy. marginatum were present in all sampled sites at lower numbers. Haemaphysalis punctate was a rare species. Conclusion: Hard ticks are more abundant and divers in plain areas than other regions particularly during spring and summer seasons. The frequencies of hard tick from the highest to the lowest belonged to Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, Hyalomma and Haemaphysalis respectively Should the populations of hard ticks be monitored and checked to avoid consequences, knowledge on seasonal and geographical patterns of their distribution is necessary, |
| Keywords: |
| Livestock, Hard ticks, Infestation, Geographic distribution, Malekan County, East-Azerbaijan Province |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
