Survey of cattle tick infestation on farm herds in Ogun state, Nigeria

Abstract

Cattle in the tropics are exposed to varying levels of challenges r from endo and ectoparasites as well as environmental stressors. Ticks have been recognized as the most notorious threat to cattle because of their hide damaging and disease vector. As a result of these, continuous study of tick distribution on cattle is necessary. Two hundred and five cattle of determined breed, sex and age, were randomly sampled from eight  different locations across four local Government areas of Ogun state in 2015. Harvested ticks were identified to species level. Variation in tick distribution across age, sex and locations were subjected to statistical analysis. Among the 205 cattle sampled, 125 (61%) had ticks while 80 (39%) had no ticks, 84 (67%) female have ticks, 27 (33%) do not have, 41 (44%) males have ticks and 53 (56%) do not have. The mean age of the cattle sampled was 3.0±0.1 years, with a mean Packed Cell Volume (PCV) of 30.8±0.4%. Amblyommavariegatum was the most prevalent tick (76%), followed by Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus (20%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (2%) while Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus. and Hyalommam arginatum were 1% respectively. Age and sex of cattle were discovered to be statistically significant in this study. Considering the  economic importance of ticks in regards to morbidity and mortality;  appropriate tick control strategy and technique need to be applied and constant tick surveillance should be encouraged in the study area

Keywords: cattle, ticks, Ogun state, infestation