Prevalence of Tick Infestation in Farm Animals from Punjab, Pakistan

Ticks are the second to mosquitoes as vectors of a number of pathogens like viruses, spirochetes, bacteria, rickettsia, protozoa and filarial nematodes etc. that cause mortality in humans and animals. So, this study was carried out to check the prevalence of ticks in Punjab, Pakistan. The total 120 livestock farms were randomly selected from 12 districts of Punjab, 10 farms (05 urban and 05 rural) from each district. Tick species were collected systematically from head to tail directions with the help of small steel forceps. Then tick samples were taken to the research laboratory and were preserved in 70% methanol for identification. On the basis of morphology, the collected ticks were distinguished microscopically with the help of the dichotomous key. The prevalence of ticks was significantly less in the Northern zone (33.47%) as compared to the Southern (36.33%), Western (35.83%) and Central zones (40.43%). The total nine tick species i.e. Hylomma (Hy.) anatolicum (26.39%), Hy. marginatum (14.51%), Hy. dromedarii (5.62%), Hy. truncatum (2.45%), Hy. rufipes (1.81%), Rhipicephalus (Rh.) sanguineus (17.24%), Rh. appendiculatus (12.39%), Rh. microplus (14.24%) and Rh. decolratus (5.35%) were identified. In all selected zones, Hy. anatolicum was the most abundant tick's species. The overall prevalence of ticks infestation in all animals were 36.52% and it was significantly different in all animal species, like buffaloes (37.53%), cows (42.41%), goats (36.14%) and sheep (29.00%). It was concluded that there is wider variety of ticks in Pakistan. (C) 2019 PVJ. All rights reserved