Tick fauna of the autochthonous Zackel sheep in south Serbia region

Abstract

Sheep production is an example of a sustainable production fully integrated within the local rural development. One of the main threats on the outdoor breeding of sheep is parasitism. Ticks are nuisances and vectors of several diseases agents. The distribution of ticks appears to be changing, with spread to previously unaffected areas. Tick and tick-borne disease control is one of the major components of animal health program protecting livestock in the developing countries, which reflects impact on the livelihood of resource-poor farming communities. Taking into consideration the negative impact on the health status of the livestock, also the direct and indirect economic losses, it is necessary to examine the tolerance and resistance of certain species against diseases. It is one of the most important elements of the strategy of selection and screening for resistant animals. The aim of this study was to determine the tick species persisting in 45 tested autochthonous Zackel sheep flocks, and examine their seasonal occurrence from March 2010 to January 2011, in the region of South Serbia. The result showed that Ixodes, Dermacentor, Ripicephalus and Haemaphysalis were the most abundant ticks found, affecting 50.40% tested sheep. The result of this study is a survey of tick species from autochthonous Zackel sheep in Serbia and implication of possible preventions measures for diseases caused and transmitted by ticks. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. BT 31053 i br. TR 31085]

Tick infestation and occurrence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and piroplasms in cattle in the Republic of Serbia

“…From the results, we can consider that the tick species distribution differs from area to area and that the three major species present are I. ricinus, D. marginatus, and H. punctata. This is in correlation with available literature data from Serbia (Pavlovic et al 2002;Becskei et al 2015;Milutinovic et al 2008).…”

“…The dominant tick species collected from sheep, goats, and dogs was Ixodes ricinus followed by occurrence of, for example, Dermacentor marginatus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus bursa, Haemaphysalis punctata, and Haemaphysalis inermis. However, in some geographical areas of Serbia, R. sanguineus was described as the most abundant species on dogs (Milutinović and Radulović 2002;Pavlović et al 2016;Becskei et al 2015;Potkonjak et al 2016).…”

Biodiversity of ticks of sheep and goats in semi-intensive farming system in Vojvodina

“…Comparison of the obtained results with findings in other regions of Serbia indicated that there is a great similarity in the established tick species. Examination performed in small ruminants in eastern, northeastern, and southern parts of Serbia and the Prizren district (Kosovo) (Milutinović et al, 1987;1997b;1998;Miščević et al, 1990;Pavlović et al, 1995;Petrović et al, 1996;Becskei et al, 2015) pointed to the presence of the same tick species, including Hy. savignyi, Ha.…”