Survey of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting cattle in two districts of Somali Regional State, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study aimed at determining the common tick species and their abundance in cattle was conducted in two districts of Somali regional state from October 2008 to March 2009. During the period, a total of 10,055 adult ticks (Ixodidae) were collected from 496 indigenous cattle. Out of the total tick count, 4304 were males and 5751 were females. Eight similar species of ticks that belong to four genera (Amblyomma, Boophilus, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma) were identified in the two districts covered by the study with a significant (P<0.001) difference in the relative abundance of most tick species between the districts. R. pulchellus was the most abundant tick species in Fafem district (25.41%), followed by B. decoloratus (24.83%) with H. m. rufipes being the least abundant (2.28%). Conversely, the most abundant tick species in Awubere district was B. decoloratus (21.43%) and A. variegatum (4.2%) was the least. A significantly higher (P<0.0001) overall mean tick burden was seen in Awubere than Fafem district. The mean tick burden was found to be independent of age and sex of the animals (P>0.05). An overall male to female ratio of 0.75:1 was also determined showing the dominance of females. In conclusion, eight different species of ticks were found infesting cattle in the study area. Limited scope of awareness regarding the impact of ticks, lack of adequate veterinary infrastructures and absence of tick control strategy are the major factors accountable for the widespread existence of tick species in the area. For that reason, educating pastoral society on appropriate animal husbandry especially regarding to tick control and creating awareness on tick epidemiology would be imperative to minimize the effect of ticks and ultimately to improve the living standards of the pastoral society.