Cattle Ticks and Risk Factors Related to Tick Infestation of Livestock in Periurban Farms in Southern Cote D'ivoire

Claude Aimée DIAHA-KOUAME, Valery Edgard ADJOGOUA, Marc Hermann AKAFFOU, Egomli Stanislas ASSOHOUN, N'guessan Fidèle DIOBO, Konan Adjoua Rose Marie Clémence KOUASSI
2020 Zenodo  
Abstract— Tick-borne diseases are a global public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the disease is caused by malaria and many other diseases of viral, parasitic or bacterial origin. This study aimed to identify the bovine tick's species in cattle farms and to determine possible risk factors related to tick infestation in Abidjan district and Azaguié commune. Thus, in July 2019, thirteen (13) herds distributed in these localities were visited for tick sampling and
more » ... to conduct epidemiological investigations. At each visit, ticks were harvested from 15 cattle per herd. All the farms visited were infested with ticks. 96.92% of sampled animals had ticks. A total of 1796 ticks were collected of which 89.42% (1606) were adults, 10.41% (187) were pupae and 0.17% (3) was larvae. Two species of ticks have been identified, Amblyomma variegatum with 25% of the population and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus with 75%. 96% of the cattle were infested by ticks of the species R. (B.) microplus and 56% of the cattle were infested by ticks of the species A. variegatum. The co-infestation of cattle by the two identified species was 53%. The distribution of the sexes showed that in the species A. variegatum, males were more numerous (13.44% for males and 8.76% for females). However in the species R. (B.) microplus, females were more numerous (5.08% for males and 62.3% for females).The analysis of risk factors associated with tick infestation in cattle has shown that factors such as Undefined parks, Type of pasture, Training in the use of acaricides and Presence of wild animals contribute to major ectoparasite infestations in cattle. Tick samples collected from peri-urban farms in the district of Abidjan and the locality of Azaguié as part of this study, indicate that the relatively recent introduction of the species Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus presents a threat to animal and human health.
doi:10.5281/zenodo.4297766 fatcat:umgltwq7bfd5ddy4luzv7r3d6e