Vet World   Vol.10   June-2017  Article-19

Research Article

Veterinary World, 10(6): 688-694

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2017.688-694

Epidemiological study of tick infestation in buffalo of various regions of district Khairpur, Pakistan

Farzana Abbasi1, Imtiaz Hussain Raja Abbasi2, Tahmeena Fakhur Nissa3, Zohaib Ahmed Bhutto4, Muhammed Asif Arain4, Rab Nawaz Soomro2, Farman Ali Siyal5, and Sarfraz Ali Fazlani4
1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan.
2. Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
3. Department of Chemistry, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Pakistan.
4. Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Uthal, 3800, Pakistan.
5. Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological infestation and identification of Ixodidae and Argasidae ticks species in buffalo of different parts of district Khairpur, Pakistan.

Materials and Methods: A total of 720 Water buffaloes from three tehsils (subdivisions) were selected randomly and examined from organized and unorganized dairy farms for tick infestation in district Khairpur, Pakistan. This epidemiological survey was conducted during April to September 2015.

Results: The overall mean population and preferred site of tick attachment to infested animals, in Gambat, Sobhodero, and Kot Diji tehsils, were observed on different body parts. The primary body area of infestation by ticks (head, thorax, abdomen, udder, and tail) ranged from highest in tail and udder part compared to lowest in the abdomen, head, and thorax. In all study areas, the infestation was higher (p<0.05) in tail and udder than other parts of the body. In all the study areas, the overall highest population was found in the month of July. In addition, we first time identify four new species of ticks (Hyalomma anatolicum, H. anatolicum excavatum, Hyalomma Ixodes excavatum, and Ixodes ricinus) in district Khairpur, Pakistan.

Conclusion: Results of this study provide additional information of epidemiological tick infestation, and will be helpful for evolving effective control policy for the management of tick infestation in study district. Keywords: Argasidae, buffalo, identification, Ixodidae, population, prevalence, ticks, tick infestation.

Keywords: Argasidae, buffalo, identification, Ixodidae, population, prevalence, ticks, tick infestation.

How to cite this article: Abbasi F, Abbasi IHR, Nissa TF, Bhutto ZA, Arain MA, Soomro RN, Siyal FA, Fazlani SA (2017) Epidemiological study of tick infestation in buffalo of various regions of district Khairpur, Pakistan, Veterinary World, 10(6): 688-694.

Received: 14-12-2016  Accepted: 08-05-2017     Published online: 24-06-2017

Corresponding author: Farzana Abbasi   E-mail: farzanaabbasi266@yahoo.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2017.688-694

Copyright: Abbasi, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.