Kamani J, González-Miguel J, Mshelbwala F M, Shekaro A, Apanaskevich D A
Parasitology Division, National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), PMB 01, Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria.
Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2019 Jun;78(2):231-246. doi: 10.1007/s10493-019-00384-2. Epub 2019 May 31.
Ticks are haematophagous arthropods that exert direct and indirect effects on their hosts. Their global importance as reservoirs and vectors of diseases of veterinary and public health importance is well recognized. However, the level of understanding of their role in disease epidemiology varies from one country to the other based on available data. Information on ticks infesting dogs across Nigeria and the public health significance is scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to provide information on ixodid ticks infesting dogs in Nigeria. Ticks were collected from 608 owned dogs presented to veterinary clinics and hospitals in 10 out of 36 states of Nigeria over a 14-month period and identified using taxonomic descriptions and morphological keys. In all, 1196 ticks belonging to three genera were identified. Rhipicephalus (including the subgenus Boophilus) ticks were collected from dogs from all the states surveyed and accounted for 95.2% of the ticks collected, followed by Haemaphysalis (3.7%) and Amblyomma species (1.2%). The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato was the only tick identified in all the climatic zones of Nigeria. There is a statistically significant association between tick infection rate and rainy season, female animals, local and cross breed against exotic animals, total lack of control practice by dog owners, frequency of the control and with traditional methods of tick control but not the age of the dogs. The epidemiological and public health implications of these findings were discussed.
蜱是吸血节肢动物，会对其宿主产生直接和间接影响。它们作为兽医和公共卫生重要疾病的储存宿主和传播媒介，在全球范围内的重要性已得到充分认可。然而，根据现有数据，各国对其在疾病流行病学中作用的了解程度各不相同。关于尼日利亚各地感染犬类的蜱以及公共卫生意义的信息匮乏。因此，本研究旨在提供有关尼日利亚感染犬类的硬蜱的信息。在14个月的时间里，从尼日利亚36个州中的10个州的兽医诊所和医院收治的608只家养犬身上采集蜱，并使用分类学描述和形态学特征进行鉴定。总共鉴定出属于三个属的1196只蜱。从所有调查州的犬身上都采集到了璃眼蜱属（包括牛蜱亚属）的蜱，占采集到的蜱的95.2%，其次是血蜱属（3.7%）和钝缘蜱属（1.2%）。热带犬蜱，即广义的血红扇头蜱，是在尼日利亚所有气候区都鉴定出的唯一蜱种。蜱感染率与雨季、雌性动物、本地和杂交品种与外来品种、犬主完全缺乏防控措施、防控频率以及传统蜱虫防控方法之间存在统计学上的显著关联，但与犬的年龄无关。本文讨论了这些发现的流行病学和公共卫生意义。
