PREVALENCE AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BOVINE TICK INFESTATION IN TWO DIFFERENT AGRO-CLIMATIC ZONES IN ANDHRA PRADESH
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Date
2019-12
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SRI VENKATESWARA VETERINARY UNIVERSITY TIRUPATI - 517502. (A.P.) INDIA
Abstract
The present study was carried out to identify the tick species and risk factors associated with tick prevalence in bovines in Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 3720 animals, including 1942 cattle and 1778 buffaloes in 344 livestock farms covering tropical wet and dry zone (North coastal zone) and tropical semi-arid zone (scarce rainfall zone of Rayalaseema) were examined for the presence of ticks. Overall, 10,371 ticks representing three genera were collected. Analysis on morphology and DNA sequence of 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) four species: Haemaphysalis bispinosa (n = 5704), Rhipicephalus microplus (n = 2533), Hyalomma anatolicum (n = 1272) and H. isaaci (n = 862) were identified with single infestations being the rule. Results revealed that the molecular and morphological data were consistent in the identification of four tick species. The constructed COI phylogenetic tree further identified R. microplus tick samples as R. microplus clade C. Haemaphysalis bispinosa was the predominant species in two zones and the occurrence of H. anatolicum was restricted to semi-arid zone. The overall percentage of tick infested bovines was 25.4 per cent and was 25.8 and 25.0 per cent in cattle and buffaloes respectively. Out of 947 infested bovines, 397 were infested with H. bispinosa, 253 with R. microplus, 175 with H. anatolicum and 122 with H. isaaci. The variation in the prevalence of tick infestation was not significant (P>0.05) in two zones but the prevalence was significantly different among districts of semi-arid zone (P<0.05) and wet and dry zone (P<0.05). The median tick burden per animal significantly (P<0.01) differed between two zones, however, the difference was not significant (P>0.05) among cattle and buffaloes. Age, gender and breed significantly (P<0.01) influenced the prevalence of tick infestation. The prevalence was higher in young and male animals and was lower in indigenous animals. Analysis of questionnaire data by binary logistic regression revealed that the loose housing system, absence of rural poultry, soft floor, presence of boundary wall and rearing multiple ruminant species were potential risk factors associated with higher tick prevalence in livestock farms. Data from the results of this study provide a guideline in the planning of effective control strategies for ticks and tick-borne diseases in bovine population of the studied area.
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