Prevalence and species composition of ixodid ticks infesting horses in three agroecologies in central Oromia, Ethiopia

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2012, Vol.44 (1), p.119-124
• Main Authors: Kumsa, Bersissa, Tamrat, Habtamu, Tadesse, Getachew, Aklilu, Nigatu, Cassini, Rudi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Amblyomma; Amblyomma gemma; Amblyomma variegatum; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Boophilus; Boophilus decoloratus; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease transmission; Ethiopia - epidemiology; Female; Gemma; Horse Diseases - epidemiology; Horse Diseases - parasitology; Horses; Hyalomma; Hyalomma marginatum rufipes; Hyalomma truncatum; Infestation; Ixodidae; Ixodidae - classification; Life Sciences; Male; Original Research; Prevalence; Rhipicephalus; Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi; Risk factors; Seasons; Species composition; Tick Infestations - epidemiology; Tick Infestations - parasitology; Tick Infestations - veterinary; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-011-9897-y

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the species composition and prevalence of ixodid ticks infesting horses in three agroecological zones in central Ethiopia. For this purpose, a total of 1,168 horses were examined for tick infestation. An overall prevalence of 39.04% of tick infestation on horses was recorded. A total of 917 adult ticks were collected from infested horses. Amblyomma , Boophilus , Rhipicephalus , and Hyalomma genera with the respective prevalence of 3.2%, 1.8%, 29.2%, and 4.7% were identified. In the study, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi was encountered with the highest prevalence (15.8%) whereas Amblyomma gemma was with lowest prevalence (1.5%). From the highland, Hyalomma marginatum rufipes (3.1%), Hyalomma truncatum (1.0%), and Boophilus decoloratus (0.3%) were identified. From the midland, R. evertsi evertsi (27.5%), Rhipicephalus pulchellus (18%), Amblyomma variegatum (3.6%), B. decoloratus (2.8%), H. marginatum rufipes (2.6%), H. truncatum (1.8%), and A. gemma (1.5%) were identified. R. evertsi evertsi , 107 (27.5%), was with the highest prevalence in the midland. From the lowland, R. pulchellus ( 22.3%), R. evertsi evertsi (20%), H. truncatum (3.6%), A. gemma (3.1%), B. decoloratus (2.3%), H. marginatum rufipes (2.1%), and A. variegatum (1.5%) were identified. In the lowland, R. pulchellus , 87 (22.3%), was the most abundant tick species. The overall prevalence of tick infestation on horses was significantly ( P