Prevalence of Camel Ticks and Haemoparasites in Southern Rangelands of Ethiopia

Solomon Gebre¹ and Godwin P. Kaaya²*

¹National Animal Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 4, Sebeta, Ethiopia

²University of Namibia, Department of Biology, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia

ABSTRACT: The prevalence of ticks on camels was studied in the semiarid rangelands of southern Ethiopia. A total of 24096 ticks were collected from 510 camels aged between 6 months and 15 years. 11 sp. of ticks; 3 Hyalomma; 5 Rhipicephalus and 3 Amblyomma were identified. Hyalomma species accounted for 27.44% of the total ticks collected; Rhipicephalus spp. 59.87% and Amblyomma spp.12.68 %. Of the total tick collection, Rhipicephalus pulchellus accounted for 59.03%; Hyalomma dromedarii 21.18%; Amblyomma gemma 12.52%; Hyalomma marginatum rufipes 3.49 % and Hyalomma truncatum 2.8%. The other tick species (1.0 %) were collected in very small numbers. Blood smears from 320 camels were examined for Haemo parasites. Of these, 142 (67.6%) were infected with Trypanosoma evansi, 3 (1.4%) with T. congolense and 2 (0.9%) with T. brucei. Camel trypanosomosis due to T. evansi occurred in most of the study areas where biting flies such as Stomoxys calcitrans, Hippobosca camelina, Philoliche zonata and P. magretti are present. Trypanosomes transmitted by tsetse flies were rare in the study areas.

KEYWORDS: Camel Ticks, Haemoparasites, Ethiopia

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