Prevalence and Seasonal Dynamics of Rhipicephalus annulatus in Cattle and Buffaloes in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt.

Elabd, Yousra; ElKhtam, Ahmed O.; El-Bahy, Nasr; Mousa, Walid S.

doi:10.21608/jcvr.2023.320456

Prevalence and Seasonal Dynamics of Rhipicephalus annulatus in Cattle and Buffaloes in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

10.21608/jcvr.2023.320456

Abstract

Ticks are the most significant ectoparasities of livestock in tropical and sub-tropical
areas. Ticks are responsible for severe economic losses as it is a vector of various
protozoal, rickettsial, bacterial and viral diseases. The purpose of the current study was
to determine the prevalence of Rhipicephalus annulatus infestations in cattle and
buffaloes in Menoufia governorate with their seasonal dynamics. A total of 1885 animals
(973 cattle and 912 buffaloes) were randomly inspected for Rhipicephalus annulatus
infestation from September 2020 and August 2021. In accordance with the ticks'
preferred sites, the samples were obtained from cattle and buffaloes of various ages and
sex in three different locations in Menoufia governorate (Tala, Shebien EL-Kom and ELShohadaa districts) during various seasons that subjected to parasitological
examination. The results revealed that the prevalence of Rhipicephalus annulatus in
cattle and buffaloes was 26% and 9.32%. The highest infestation in cattle was observed
in summer season 38.5% and the lowest was in winter 11.92%. Meanwhile, in buffaloes
spring and autumn recorded high infestation 10.84% and10.96% with lower prevalence
in winter 8.58%. In relation to the effect of some risk factors in dynamic distribution of
Rhipicephalus annulatus infestation, it was found that a significant effect of season in
prevalence of Rhipicephalus annulatus in cattle, but not in buffaloes. Regarding to age, it
was observed that 1-5 years old cattle and buffaloes recorded the highest infestations
with 42.3% and 14.07 %. Although non- significant difference in relation to sex of
examined cattle and buffaloes. Moreover, the effect of locality had a high significant
effect in cattle recorded 31.43%, 25.38%, 20.88% in Tala, Shebien El-kom and AlShohadaa respectively and in buffaloes14.9%, 8.9%, 4.2% respectively. In conclusion,
Rhipicephalus annulatus has endemic nature in cattle and buffaloes in Menoufia
governorate and the adoption of prioritised control programmes should be directed.

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