Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2010 to April 2011 with the objective of identifying the major ixodid tick species of domestic ruminants, estimating their prevalence and investigating their associated risk factors in SodoZuria, Damot Gale and Humbo districts of Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia. A total of 384 ruminants comprising 138 cattle, 130 sheep and 116 goats were examined in the study areas. An overall prevalence of tick infestation in the three study districts was 89.1% in cattle, 70 % in sheep and 32.8% in goats. The difference in the prevalence of tick infestation between the three species of ruminants was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was a significant (P<0.05) variation was observed in Damot Gale (95%) and lowest in Humbo (79%); however, such variation was not observed in sheep and goats (P>0.05). In the present study, tick infestation was not associated with sex of the animal (P>0.05) except for goats in which the prevalence was significantly (p<0.05) higher in males than females. Similarly, the infestation was not significantly (P>0.05) associated with the age of animals. In this study, six species of ixodid ticks which belong to three genera were identified in all the three ruminants. These are Amblyommavariegatum, Amblyommagemma, Amblyommalepidium, Amblyommacohaerence, Rhipicephalusevertsievertsi and Boopphil- usdecoloratus. The most prevalent tick species in cattle was Boopphilusdecoloratus while in sheep and goats, Rhipicephalusevertsievertsi was the dominant tick species. From the total 252 animals infested with different tick species, 89.7% ruminants were found to be infested with a single tick species while 10.3% ruminants were infested with two or three different tick species. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that ticks are highly prevalent in domestic animals in the study areas and particularly cattle are more prone to tick infestation. Therefore, due attention should be given to control and prevent of