Department Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria.
Department of Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
Vet Parasitol. 2024 Oct;331:110246. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110246. Epub 2024 Jul 6.
Bites of haematophagous ectoparasites cause mechanical injuries and histopathological changes in their hosts' hides and skins whose resultant leathers become unsuitable for certain leather products. The effects of tick bites on the wellbeing of their hosts are known, however, knowledge of their effects on the quality of leathers is scarce. This work investigated the effects of tick bites on the histopathology of skin and the percentage elongation at break (PEB) of shoe upper leathers produced from the skins of Amblyomma variegatum infested Yankasa sheep. A total of nine apparently healthy Yankasa sheep were selectively purchased from the open market and acclimatized for four weeks in the laboratory. Three animals in each of group 1 and 2 were infested with 40 nymphs and 20 adults of Am. variegatum respectively. Group three animals served as uninfested control. All animals were euthanized after the ticks were fully engorged and detached. Skin biopsies at tick attachment points and the uninfested control were taken from flayed skins and processed for histopathological examination. All skins were processed into finished leathers and their PEB determined. Histopathological studies revealed keratinization in all Am. variegatum infested sheep skins, while the un-infested control skins were normal. Mean PEB (%) of leathers were 21.41±3.33SE (nymphs), 36.73±4.44SE (adults) and 47.83±2.78SE (control). Bites of Am. variegatum cause histopathological changes in Yankasa sheep skins that significantly (p = 0.006) reduce the PEB of resultant leathers to less than the acceptable minimum standard of 40 % whose leathers are classified as rejects. In this study, skin of Yankasa sheep infested by nymphs and adults of Am. variegatum ticks resulted in low quality leathers that are unsuitable for standard leather products production and are also of low market value due to keratinization. Sustained efforts need to be undertaken to increase the awareness on the negative impact of tick bites on leather products by encouraging livestock farmers to engage in early treatment of animals infested with ticks.
吸血节肢寄生虫的叮咬会对宿主的皮毛造成机械损伤和组织病理学变化，导致皮革不适合某些皮革制品。已知蜱虫叮咬会对宿主的健康产生影响，但是，关于蜱虫叮咬对皮革质量的影响知之甚少。本研究调查了蜱虫叮咬对感染边缘革蜱的扬卡萨羊皮肤组织病理学和鞋面革断裂伸长率（PEB）的影响。从开放市场中选择了总共 9 只明显健康的扬卡萨羊，并在实验室中适应了四周。每组 1 和 2 中的 3 只动物分别感染了 40 只若虫和 20 只成年边缘革蜱。第三组动物作为未感染对照。当蜱虫完全饱血并脱落时，所有动物都被安乐死。从剥皮后的皮肤中采集附着蜱虫的皮肤活检和未感染对照的皮肤活检，并进行组织病理学检查。所有皮肤都被加工成成品皮革，并测定其 PEB。组织病理学研究显示，所有感染边缘革蜱的羊皮都发生了角化，而未感染对照的皮肤则正常。皮革的平均 PEB（%）为 21.41±3.33SE（若虫）、36.73±4.44SE（成虫）和 47.83±2.78SE（对照）。边缘革蜱的叮咬会导致扬卡萨羊皮发生组织病理学变化，这会显著（p = 0.006）降低皮革的 PEB，使其低于 40%的可接受最低标准，这些皮革被归类为废品。在本研究中，感染边缘革蜱若虫和成虫的扬卡萨羊皮会导致皮革质量差，不适合标准皮革制品生产，由于角化，皮革的市场价值也较低。需要持续努力，通过鼓励牲畜饲养者对感染蜱虫的动物进行早期治疗，提高人们对蜱虫叮咬对皮革制品负面影响的认识。
