Survey of the livestock ticks of the North West province, South Africa

Abstract

Ticks, as vectors of disease and damage agents, impact directly and indirectly on the economy of the livestock industry in southern Africa. This study surveyed the occurrence and distribution of ticks infesting livestock across the North West province, South Africa. During three phases in consecutive years, officers of the provincial Veterinary Department collected specimens monthly from livestock hosts at specified sites across the province. Data analysis constituted the fourth phase of the study. A total of 1090 collections from 265 sites yielded 42 566 tick specimens, comprising 22 different tick species (18 ixodids, 4 argasids). The specimens represent all of the major tick vectors of disease that occur in South Africa. The major tick-borne diseases (i.e. heartwater, both African and Asiatic bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis) were found to be prevalent mainly in the north-eastern region of the province, which also displayed the highest tick species diversity. The central region appears transitory to some of the major vectors. Although some tick species were contained within specific regions, others were widespread across the province. Associated serology data show that most herds sampled in areas endemic for babesiosis and anaplasmosis in the north-eastern region are endemically unstable and at risk to these tick-borne diseases should vector control measures become ineffective.

An update on the ecological distribution of the Ixodidae ticks in Zimbabwe

“…Its distribution was fairly constant in all the ecological regions of Zimbabwe. It has been reported that R. evertsi evertsi tolerates a wide range of climatic conditions (Walker et al, 2000) and is widely distributed and common on livestock throughout much of Africa (Spickett et al, 2011). Similar results on the widespread distribution of R. evertsi evertsi in Zimbabwe were also reported by Hove et al (2008) and Ndhlovu et al (2009).…”

“…Hyalomma species are very common particularly in the drier parts of southern Africa (Walker, 1991), in this study the prevalence of H. rufipes was significantly higher than that of H. truncatum (confidence intervals of their prevalence do not overlap). Previous studies have shown that H. truncatum has a widespread distribution in Zimbabwe as compared to H. rufipes (Norval, 1982, Hove et al, 2008; this could not be observed in this study mainly because of the tendency of this tick to attach to the tail switch which is mostly overlooked during sampling, such observations were also made by Spickett et al (2011). It is also noteworthy, however, that H. rufipes was found in the central and north central part of the country which indicated movement of this tick especially when looking at past published records.…”

“…Globally 867 tick species have been described with 10% of these being of veterinary importance (Jongejan and Uilenberg, 2004). In Southern Africa about 90 species of ticks have been described, 35 of these being associated with domestic animals and 15 being of economic importance (Spickett et al, 2011;Walker, 1991). The major factors that affect distribution of ticks are environmental suitability (Cumming, 1999) and the presence of suitable hosts (Tonnesen et al, 2004).…”

First record of the pantropical blue tick Rhipicephalus microplus in Namibia

“…According to the farmer, these animals had been bought in North-West Province, South Africa, in 2005. In a survey on the distribution of ticks in this province, conducted over a number of years, commencing in 2001, Spickett et al (2011) recorded R. microplus at 14 localities, thus supporting the possibility of its introduction into Namibia from here.…”

“…On the African continent R. microplus is common along the eastern coastal belt and also in the summer rainfall northern regions of South Africa (Howell et al 1978;T¢nnesen et al 2004;Horak et al 2009;Spickett et al 2011). It is also present in Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia (Mason and Norval 1980;Berkvens et al 1998;Wedderburn et al 1999;Horak et al 2009).…”