Tick

Background and Aim: Even though Ethiopia encounters considerable losses due to tick infestations , and existing research has reported the distribution and abundance of tick species across different parts of the country, there are no evidences supporting the prevalence and distribution of hard ticks at the Horo Guduru Animal Breeding and Research Center. Therefore, the main objectives of this research are: to analyze the prevalence of ixodid ticks and identify them in the study area as well as to provide baseline data on the relative distribution of tick species.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 409 cattle (305 local breed (Horo breed) and 104 cross breed (Horo breed × Jersey breed) using simple random sampling techniques for identification and determination of prevalence of ticks at the study area.
Results: In the present study, the overall prevalence of tick infestation was recorded as 78.23%. Two tick genera were identified with the composition of Ambylomma (51.2%) and Rhipicepha-lus (48.8%). In the study area, four tick species were identified with their respective prevalence of Rh. (B.) decoloratus (33.8%), A. variegatum (21.3%), Rh. e. evertsi (15%) and A. cohaerens (29.9%). The prevalence of tick infestation was found to be significantly different (p<0.05) between breeds with higher prevalence in local breed (Horo breed) (83.6%) than cross (Horo breed × Jersey) (62.5%). The prevalence of tick infestation among age groups was highly prevalent in adult cattles (79.08%) relative to young (73.3%) cattles. The prevalence of ticks was also highest in medium (81.4%) and lowest in good (73.4%) cattles respectively.
Conclusion: The overall prevalence rate of ixodid ticks in the current study area was 78.23%. According to the present finding, the most important tick species that was intensively investigated were A. decolaratus, Rh. evertsi-evertsi, A. varigatum, and A. cohaerence. The study indicated that there was a high burden of ticks in the discussed area.

Ticks and the vast array of pathogens they transmit, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths, constitute a growing burden for human and animal health worldwide. In Cuba, the major tropical island in the Caribbean, ticks are an important cause of vector-borne diseases affecting livestock production, pet animal health and, to a lesser extent, human health. The higher number of tick species in the country belong to the Argasidae family and, probably less known, is the presence of an autochthonous tick species in the island, Ixodes capromydis. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of the ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) affecting animal and human health in Cuba. The review covers research results including ecophysiology of ticks, the epidemiology of TBPs, and the diagnostic tools used currently in the country for the surveillance of TBPs. We also introduce the programs implemented in the country for tick control and the biotechnology research applied to the develop...