Prevalence and Association of Hard Ticks (Ixodidae) with Various Breeds of Sheep and Goats

| Pakistan h as agricultural land and livestock play a significant part particularly to raise the living standard of poor farmer’s communities. Ectoparasites are one of the greatest dangers to livestock and among ectoparasites, ticks are the most common one. The current study was completed in district Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan to determine the tick infestation in different breeds of goat and sheep. A total of 840 animals were investigated during the winter and summer seasons to determine ticks prevalence. The overall prevalence of tick infestation in the sheep and goat population of the Quetta district was 12.26%. Five species of ticks i.e. Ixodes (3.98%), Haemaphysalis (1.90%), Hyalomma (7.38%), Rhipicephalus (7.14%), and Boophilus (2.62%) were prevalent in the study area. A non-significant association (P > 0.05) of tick infestation with sheep and goat breeds was found in the present study. The highest prevalence of ticks was found in animals of 1-2 years of age (15.79%), followed in order by less than one year (11.44%), and 2-3 years (9.06%) of age. Females (15.56%) were found more prone to tick infestation than males (9.20%). The tick infestation was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in summer (18.81%) as compared to winter (5.71%). Among breeds of sheep, the highest prevalence of tick infestation was found in Bibrik sheep (13.60%), followed in order by Afghani sheep (12.50%), Balochi sheep (12.50%) and Harnai sheep (10.00%). The Khurasani goat (15.15%) showed higher infestation as compared to Lehri goat (11.85%) and Sindhi goats (10.00%). It is concluded that the different breeds of sheep and goats were equally susceptible to tick infestation and there were no association of tick infestation with sheep and goat breeds however, the prevalence of ticks was significantly higher in summer than winter .

sites directly affect the livestock production and living of animals (Sajid et al., 2020). Ticks are the blood-sucking ectoparasites infecting chordates counting in mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. The transmission of diseases in humans and animals is carried out by approximately of 10% species of hard and soft ticks ( Jongejan and Uilenberg, 2004). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that tick infestation is responsible for 7 billion US $ losses globally (Harrow et al., 1991).
Tick affects the animals by causing damage to hide (moderating 20-30% of its features), toxin production, weight loss, reduced milk production and stunted growth (Gharbi et al., 2006). Ticks are also responsible for the transmission of viruses, bacteria, protozoan and viral diseases like anaplasmosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, ehrlichiosis and Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever in dairy and meat animals (Rajput et al., 2006). Tropical and subtropical areas are mostly affected by these diseases where the climate is suitable for the development and growth of ticks. The condition is worse in these countries due to the unavailability of control practices (Sajid et al., 2017;2020).
Many species of ticks were recorded to be prevalent in sheep and goats in Baluchistan. Hyalomma (Euhyalomma) schulzei was reported and re-described for the first time in Balochistan (Kakarsulemankhel, 2011). Hyalomma (H.) aegyptium, H. anatolicum and Haemaphysalis flava are tick species that areresponsible for the transmission of the Congo virus in animals (Rizwan et al., 2019). Two hard tick species viz H. anatolicum and H. aegyptium were reported from different localities including, Loralai, Sibi, Noshki, Qallat, and Harnai (Rafiq et al., 2015). Many breeds of sheep including Baluchi, Harnai, Rakhshani and Bibrik in Balochistan were infested with Haemaphysalis flava (Khan, 2000). Keeping in view the importance of ticks like the risk of tick-borne diseases, and production losses, the present study was planned to explore the prevalence of ticks in sheep and goat populations and the distribution of ticks in different breeds of sheep and goats in the district Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.

Study aRea and aniMal SaMplinG
Balochistan is the biggest province of Pakistan covers a 350,000 sq. km area. Its capital is Quetta and is in 29° 48" 40' to 30° 28" 4' north latitude and 66° 14" 37' to 67° 17" 3' east longitude. During winter and summer seasons, various breeds of sheep (Bibrik, Harnai, Balochi, Shinwar-Afghani) and goats (Lehri, Patari and Khurasani), with different age groups that are less than one year, one to two years and two to three years of either sex were examined for the absence and presence of ticks. The study was approved by the ethical committee of Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University, Quetta, Balochistan. The standard guidelines for animal care were followed in this study.

ColleCtion and identifiCation of tiCkS
From infected goats and sheep, ticks were collected for physical examination and then placed in clean dried plastic bottles and labeled properly. For further processing, the tick samples were sent to the laboratory of SBK Women's University, Department of Zoology. Ticks were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol. Under stereo microscope identification of ticks was done by observing their morphology with taxonomic keys (Walker et al., 2003). For proper identification and conformation some samples were sent to the Islamabad NARC (National Agricultural Research Centre) laboratory.

StatiStiCal analySeS
For data analysis Statistics version 8.1 was used after entering proper data into the Microsoft spreadsheet along with appropriate coding. Descriptive analyses were performed to determine the prevalence of ticks in goats and sheep. The Chi-square test was used for determining the risk factors (sex, breed, age) and the existence of tick distribution. The confidence interval was found to be 95% for significance and prevalence (P < 0.05) was settled for all the cases.

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Academic Publishers

Journal of Animal Health and Production
March 2022 | Volume 10 | Issue 1 | Page 12

Journal of Animal Health and Production
March 2022 | Volume 10 | Issue 1 | Page 13 be Haemaphysalis bispinosa (100%), along with Hyalomma marginatum isaaci (7.29%), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides (3.13%) and H. anatolicum anatolicum (2.08%). The abundance of ticks in these countries is higher than in Europe (Hostis and Seegers, 2002) and Australia (Mustafa et al., 2014). Extensive research on tick prevalence and the related risk factors was carried out in different districts of Pakistan (Sultana et al., 2015;Sajid et al., 2017;2020). Ticks act as a vector for many protozoal, viral and bacterial diseases, so the study on tick prevalence and risk factors plays a crucial role in planning control strategies (Dantas-Torres, 2012). Many threatening factors associated with tickborne infections observed and reported globally including changing environment, season, habitat, presence of a host, humidity, rainfall, temperature and altitude (Cadenas et al., 2007;Greenfield et al., 2011;Sajid et al., 2017) breed, age, sex and nutritional status of the animal, pregnancy, lactation stage, husbandry practices and body condition (Sajid et al., 2011) and methods of application of acaricides (Bianchi et al., 2003).
The present study was conducted in summer and winter, where the prevalence was 18.81% and 5.71% in the respective season. The same results were reported earlier by Riaz et al. (2017) who reported 77.7% in summer and 11.1% in winter. Sultana et al. (2017) reported 42.67% in winter and66.67 % in summer, while Manan et al. (2007) reported 25.80% in summer and 6.73% in winter. The moist and warm environment in summer help ticks in their survival and as a result tick prevalence increased in the summer season (Ghosh et al., 2007).
In the current study, sheep and goats were found almost equally susceptible to tick infestation. The same results were described by Manan et al. (2007) from Peshawar with 12.0% prevalence in goats and 12.8% prevalence in sheep, by Irshad et al. (2010) from Lahore with 41.53% in goats and 43.37% in sheep, by Riaz et al. (2017) from Multan with 43.6% in goats and 50.0% in sheep and by Sajid et al. (2017) (Khan, 2000).
The results elaborated that female animals were more susceptible to tick infestation than males. Higher prevalence was described in many previous studies. Sultana et al. (2015) reported a 45.45% prevalence in females and 72.55% in males. Riaz et al. (2017) also reported the highest prevalence of ticks in females (48.52%) than males (45.16%). These results match with Sajid et al. (2017), who reported 66.44% prevalence in males and 80.33% in females. Hormones like estrogen and androgen had an inhibitory and stimulatory effect on immune responses which result in higher susceptibility of females than males (Bilbo and Nelson, 2001).
In the current study, the prevalence in animals of 1-2 years of age was found higher than young and adult animals. The prevalence was higher in summer than winter because the skin of animals is soft and plain and enables the ticks to attach more easily and for a longer period. These findings of Manan et al. (2007) showed more prevalence in young animals (15.8%) than in adults (13.9%). Sultana et al. (2015) reported 79.07% prevalence in young animals and 44.83% prevalence in adults. Similarly, Sajid et al. (2017) reported 85.67% prevalence in young animals and 66.44% in adults. However, these results did not match with Shah et al. (2015) who reported higher tick prevalence in adults (60%) than in young animals (40%).
concluSIon It is concluded that the different species of ticks were prevalent in the study area. The association of tick infestation