Nyangiwe N, Yawa M, Qokweni L, Mthi S, Goni S, Mapholi N O
Döhne Agricultural Development Institute, Private Bag X15, Stutterheim, South Africa; Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Florida, South Africa.
Department of Livestock and Pasture Science, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2023 May;14(3):102122. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102122. Epub 2023 Jan 15.
The seasonal dynamics and distribution of ticks play a pivotal role in the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases. The objective of this study was to establish the seasonal abundance and species richness of questing ixodid ticks on Amathole Montane Grassland camps grazed by sheep. Ticks questing for hosts were collected monthly for a period of three years by dragging flannel strips attached to a wooden spar over the vegetation. At each occasion, six replicate drag-samples were made in camps grazed by sheep. Of the questing ticks (n = 14 891) collected from the vegetation, the most abundant larvae were those of Rhipicephalus microplus (95.04%) followed by Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (2.32%), Rhipicephalus evertsi (1.56%), Rhipicephalus decoloratus (1.03%), Rhipicephalus simus (0.03) and Amblyomma hebraeum (0.02%). Comparing the two Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp., R. microplus (98.9%) outcompete the indigenous tick, R. decoloratus (1.1%). The R. microplus larvae were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in 2015 (2.11±0.108), 2016 (2.02 ± 0.076) and 2017 (1.94±0.075) during spring than any other season. There were no significant differences (P ˃ 0.05) from R. appendiculatus questing ticks collected in autumn (0.27±0.007; 0.30±0.052) and spring (0.33±0.007; 0.20±0.052) for 2015 and 2016, respectively. The study showed that the cattle tick, R. microplus adapted very well on host species, in this case sheep, and encroached to areas that were too cold for its adaptation.
蜱虫的季节动态和分布在蜱传疾病的流行病学中起着关键作用。本研究的目的是确定在绵羊放牧的阿马托勒山地草原营地中，寻找宿主的硬蜱的季节丰度和物种丰富度。在三年的时间里，每月通过将附着在木杆上的法兰绒条拖过植被来收集寻找宿主的蜱虫。每次在绵羊放牧的营地进行六次重复拖样。在从植被中收集的寻找宿主的蜱虫（n = 14891）中，数量最多的幼虫是微小牛蜱（95.04%），其次是边缘革蜱（2.32%）、埃氏革蜱（1.56%）、变色革蜱（1.03%）、草原革蜱（0.03%）和希伯来花蜱（0.02%）。比较两种牛蜱属（微小牛蜱），微小牛蜱（98.9%）比本地蜱变色革蜱（1.1%）更具竞争力。微小牛蜱幼虫在2015年（2.11±0.108）、2016年（2.02±0.076）和2017年（1.94±0.075）的春季显著高于（P < 0.05）其他任何季节。2015年和2016年秋季（0.27±0.007；0.30±0.052）和春季（0.33±0.007；0.20±0.052）收集的边缘革蜱寻找宿主的蜱虫之间没有显著差异（P ˃ 0.05）。研究表明，牛蜱微小牛蜱在宿主物种（在这种情况下是绵羊）上适应得非常好，并侵入了对其适应来说太冷的地区。
