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Title: | Tick communities of cattle in smallholder rural livestock production systems in sub-Saharan Africa | Authors: | HEYLEN, Dieter Kumsa, Bersissa Kimbita, Elikira Frank, Mwiine Nobert Muhanguzi, Dennis Jongejan, Frans Adehan, Safiou Bienvenu Toure, Alassane Aboagye-Antwi, Fred Ogo, Ndudim Isaac Juleff, Nick Fourie, Josephus Evans, Alec Byaruhanga, Joseph Madder, Maxime |
Issue Date: | 2023 | Publisher: | BMC | Source: | Parasites & Vectors, 16 (1) (Art N° 206) | Abstract: | Background The majority of the African population lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. To increase the productivity and sustainability of their farms, they need access to affordable yield-enhancing inputs of which parasite control is of paramount importance. We therefore determined the status of current tick species with the highest economic impact on cattle by sampling representative numbers of animals in each of seven sub-Saharan countries. Methods Data included tick species' half-body counts from approximately 120 cattle at each of two districts per country, collected four times in approximately 1 year (to include seasonality). Study sites were chosen in each country to include high cattle density and tick burden. Results East Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania) showed overall a higher diversity and prevalence in tick infestations compared to West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria). In East Africa, Amblyomma variegatum (vector of Ehrlichia ruminantium), Rhipicephalus microplus (Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, Anaplasma marginale), R. evertsi evertsi (A. marginale) and R. appendiculatus (Theileria parva) were the most prevalent tick species of economic importance. While the latter species was absent in West Africa, here both A. variegatum and R. microplus occurred in high numbers. Rhipicephalus microplus had spread to Uganda, infesting half of the cattle sampled. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus is known for its invasive behaviour and displacement of other blue tick species, as observed in other East and West African countries. Individual cattle with higher body weights, as well as males, were more likely to be infested. For six tick species, we found reduced infestation levels when hosts were treated with anti-parasiticides. Conclusions These baseline data allow the determination of possible changes in presence and prevalence of ticks in each of the countries targeted, which is of importance in the light of human-caused climate and habitat alterations or anthropogenic activities. As many of the ticks in this study are vectors of important pathogens, but also, as cattle may act as end hosts for ticks of importance to human health, our study will help a wide range of stakeholders to provide recommendations for tick infestation surveillance and prevention. | Notes: | Heylen, DJA (corresponding author), Univ Antwerp, Dept Biol, Evolutionary Ecol Grp, Antwerp, Belgium.; Heylen, DJA (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, Interuniv Inst Biostat & Stat Bioinformat, Diepenbeek, Belgium. dieter.heylen@uantwerpen.be |
Keywords: | Amblyomma variegatum;Rhipicephalus microplus;Babesia bovis;Rhipicephalus appendiculatus;Sub-sahara Africa | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/40658 | ISSN: | 1756-3305 | e-ISSN: | 1756-3305 | DOI: | 10.1186/s13071-023-05801-5 | ISI #: | 001015054100002 | Rights: | The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativeco mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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