Prevalence of TickInfestation in Domestic Ruminants and Associated Risk Factors in OmdurmanLocality- Khartoum State- Sudan

Abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted from December2017 to May 2018 to investigate the prevalence of tick infestation and to reveal the relationship between tick infestation and factors of age, sex, district, , breed , coat color, predilection sites, season, herd size, housing type, raising system, feeding type, removing of manure, tick control, method of control, in Omdurman Locality, Khartoum State, Sudan. A total of 185 domestic ruminant, 52 goat, 60 sheep, and 73 head cattle were inspected thoroughly for tick presence in fifth areas namely: Karary, Gandahar, Rudwn, Almowailih, and Alhoda. The result disclosed that tick presence was common in the three species where the prevalence was 28.8% (15 out of 52) in goats and 40.0%(24 out of 60) in sheep while 71.2%(52 out of 73) in cattle. The results indicated that, three tick genera and seven species were found during the study period, the genera were of Rhipicephalus, Hyalomma and Amblyomma. The tick species included Rhipicephalus decoloratus, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi. Rhipicephalus sangiueneus, Hyalomma anatolicum, H.rufipes, H. truncatum and Amblyomma lepidum. The most abundant tick species was H.anatolicum. Its number was 528 ticks (69.83) followed by R.evertsi 140 ticks (18.39), A.lepidum 31 (4.04), R.decloratus 22 ticks (2.89), H.truncatum 19 (2.49), R.sangiueneus 18 (2.36), H.rufipes 3 (0.39). The analysis of risk factors showned association with tick presence under significant level of P-value ≤ 0.05: Concerning goats, positive association was recorded for following factor: District (p-value = 0.000) and predilection site (P-value = 0.000) and feeding type (P-value=0.000) and method of control (P-value=0.001). In relation to sheep, positive association was recorded for predilection site (P-value = 0.000), while in cattle, positive association was recorded for District (p-value = 0.027), predilection sites (p-value = 0.000), breed (p-value = 0.006), age (p-value = 0.000) and method of control (p-value = 0.022). Tick infestation was prevalent in study area, and become a source of a continuous animal infestation and transmission of disease to animals and had economic impact, and the overall prevalence of ticks infestation in domestic ruminant was higher, and the most abundance tick infestation was Hyalomma anatolicum and hence emergence of tropical theileriosism.