Prevalence and biology of goat warble fly infestation by Przhevalskiana silenus in Jammu province, India

Examination of 3,960 goats brought from six districts of Jammu province and slaughtered at Jammu abattoir from July 2005 to June 2006 revealed 47.22% prevalence of larval stages of warble fly (Przhevalskiana silenus Brauer, 1858) in goats. Highest prevalence was recorded in Udhampur (56.44%) and lowest in Doda district (13.49%). Classification of the study area into four zones based on height (meters above sea level), viz., zone I (300–325 m asl), zone II (325–800 m asl), zone III (800–1,500 m asl), and zone IV (>1,500 m asl), revealed significant (p < 0.01) difference in infestation among animals of zone II (71.68%), zone III (40.12%), and zone IV (22.41%). However, animals of zone I did not reveal any infestation. Statistical analysis in relation to age showed significant (p < 0.01) difference among different age groups, i.e., <1 year (2.81%), 1–3 years (51.17%), and >3 years (43.16%). Breed-wise analysis also showed significantly (p < 0.01) higher infestation rate among Bakerwali (51.51%) goats as compared to Beetal (42.59%). But no significant difference was recorded among male (47.81%) and female (46.82%) animals. The overall mean larva count (L1, L2, and L3) was observed to be 14.72 ± 0.34, ranging from 4 to 72. It was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in animals of zone II (22.20 ± 0.21) as compared to goats of zones III (14.21 ± 0.41) and IV (7.73 ± 0.90). Age-wise analysis of mean larva count also showed significant (P < 0.05) difference between animals of 1–3 years (16.25 ± 0.37) and >3 years of age (13.18 ± 0.40). Mean larvae count in relation to sex and breed did not reveal any significant difference. First-instar larvae (L1) were recorded from May to mid-September, second larval stage (L2) from mid-September to mid-December, and third-stage larvae (L3) from mid-December to February. However, No larvae were recorded from March to April, which is suggestive of pupation period in this region. Thus, it is concluded that adult fly is active in April to June. The results further confirmed that internal life cycle of P. silenus is subcutaneous and no migration of larvae occurs. This is the first report from India, based on slaughter house study on the prevalence and biology of goat warble fly infestation. It will help in devising suitable prophylactic and eradication program to check the economic losses rendered by adult fly.