Ticks fauna of sheep and goats in some suburbs of Mazandaran province, Iran

Authors

1 انگل شناسی دامپزشکی

2 University of Tehran

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Ticks are obligatory blood sucking arthropods
that can transmit important pathogens. OBJECTIVES: The
distribution and diversity of ticks fauna were last studied in the north
of Iran in 2007. Mazandaran province has a humid climate, which
is favourable to animal husbandry such as sheep breeding. Due to
humid climate, the likelihood of exposure to tick infestation is
increasing. The aim of this study was to determine the ticks founa of
sheep and goats that grazed on the outskirts of mazandaran in 2012.
METHODS: During the first 7 months of 2012, a total of 1190 tick
specimens were collected from the whole body of sheep and goats
from 23 different points of Mazandaran province. Adult male ticks
were identified under a stereomicroscope, according to the
identification keys. RESULTS: The identified tick specimens
belonged to six Genus and 11 species, including Rhipicephalus
turanicus (47%), Rhipicephalus bursa (24.6%), Haemaphysalis
punctata (17.16%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4%), Haemaphysalis
concina (3%), Haemaphysalis parva (1%), Hyalomma
marginatum (1%), Hyalomma anatolicum (0.6%), Dermacentor
marginatus (0.6%), Ixodes ricinus (0.5%), and Boophilus
(Rhipicephalus) annulatus (0.3%). Rh. turanicus was the most
abundant tick. CONCLUSIONS: Due to climate change, regular
monitoring of distribution patterns of ticks is an important concern
to control the ticks and tick-borne diseases.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Volume 8, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
January 2015
Pages 275-279

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