Ticks are the second to mosquitoes as vectors of a number of human and animals pathogens like viruses, spirochetes, bacteria, rickettsia, protozoa and filarial nematodes etc. Important tick borne diseases are Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, anaplasmosis, theileriosis and babesiosis that cause mortality in humans and animals. So, this study was carried out to check the prevalence of ticks and tick borne diseases in the Punjab, Pakistan. Three districts were selected from each of four zones of Punjab. The total 120 livestock farms were randomly selected from 12 districts, 10 farms (05 urban and 05 rural) from each district. Tick species were collected in morning and evening during 2016 to 2017 systematically from head to tail directions with the help of small steel forceps. The tick samples were taken to research laboratory in clean and dry appropriately labeled plastic bottles with muslin at the top for proper aeration. In the laboratory, the process of preservation was carried out by keeping ticks into 70% methanol. On the basis of morphology the collected ticks were distinguished microscopically with the help of dichotomous key. For molecular studies, ticks from each species were individually used for the extraction of DNA. Extracted DNA of ticks was stored at ‒20⁰C. The tick pathogens were confirmed by PCR using specific primers. Different acaricides and plant extracts were used to control ticks. Prevalence of tick and tick-borne pathogens were tested by χ2 tests and multiple logistic regressions model which was performed in SPSS 21. To calculate the percent mortality the data were analyzed by probit analysis using Minitab-15 statistical software. The total prevalence of tick-infected animals was 36.52% (4382/12,000). The prevalence of tick was significantly least in the Northern zone (33.47%) as compared to the Southern (36.33%), Western (35.83%) and Central zones (40.43%). The total ten tick species i.e. Hylomma (Hy.) anatolicum (25.92%), Hy. marginatum (14.05%), Hy. dromedarii (5.62%), Hy. truncatum (2.44%), Hy. rufipes (1.79%), Rhipicephalus (Rh.) sanguineus (16.33%), Rh. appendiculatus (12.39%), Boophilus (B.) microplus (14.2%), B. decolratus (5.15%) and Argus percicus (2.02%) were identified. Hy. anatolicum and Hy. marginatum were the most abundant ticks spcies in all selected zones. Argas percicus was found only in Central zone. The overall prevalence of ticks infestation in all animals were 36.52% and it was significantly different in all animal species, like buffaloes (37.53%), cows (42.41%), goats (36.14%) and sheep (29.00%). The prevalence of overall evaluations of tick-borne pathogens in all agro-ecological zones was significantly different. Highest prevalence was found in Ehrlichia spp. (16%) followed by Anaplasma spp. (9.1%), Theileria spp. (9.03%) and Babesia spp. (4.14%). It was concluded that there is wider variety of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Pakistan. In case of control experiments, extracts of selected plant (Calotropis procera, Citrullus colocynths, Brasica rapa, Solanum nigrum and Trigonella foenum-graceum) also showed promising results along with acaricides.
Chapters
| Title |
Author |
Supervisor |
Degree |
Institute |
| Title |
Author |
Supervisor |
Degree |
Institute |
| Title |
Author |
Supervisor |
Degree |
Institute |
| Title |
Author |
Supervisor |
Degree |
Institute |
Similar News
| Headline |
Date |
News Paper |
Country |
| Headline |
Date |
News Paper |
Country |
Similar Articles
| Article Title |
Authors |
Journal |
Vol Info |
Language |
| Article Title |
Authors |
Journal |
Vol Info |
Language |
Similar Article Headings
| Heading |
Article Title |
Authors |
Journal |
Vol Info |
| Heading |
Article Title |
Authors |
Journal |
Vol Info |