Yean Sony, Prasetyo Didot B, Ren Theary, Krib Davy, Sen Saoya, Chea Bunthon, Tum Sothyra, Sorn San, Sum Samuth, Boyer Sébastien
Medical and Veterinary Entomology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
National Animal Health and Production Research Institute, General Directorate of Animal Health and Production, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 16;20(4):e0320879. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320879. eCollection 2025.
Cattle tick infestations pose a significant threat to livestock health and productivity worldwide. These parasitic arthropods, feed on blood and may cause various diseases in cattle, such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and theileriosis. The objective of this study is to understand the seasonal dynamic and distribution patterns of tick infesting cattle in Cambodia. A longitudinal tick survey was conducted from January to December 2023 in two cattle farms in the Takeo and Kampong Speu provinces. Ticks were collected directly from the animal hosts with fine-tip forceps or specialized tools such as tick twisters, and from the vegetation using a combination of dragging and flagging method. A total of 13,678 ticks were collected from 240 inspected cattle and 11,384 ticks were found from vegetation around the two farms. The most prevalent species was Rhipicephalus microplus complex (60.6%), while R. haemaphysaloides was recorded in small numbers (0.4%). Unidentified species represented 39% of the collected ticks, consisting of immature Rhipicephalus spp. In addition, one adult Rhipicephalus linnaei, 245 immatures of Haemaphysalis spp., and 11,138 larvae of Rhipicephalus spp. were collected using dragging and flagging methods. The results revealed significant seasonal differences in tick population dynamics across both provinces, with 60.24% in Kampong Speu and 57.09% in Takeo during the rainy season, compared to 39.76% and 42.91% during the dry season. Statistical analysis on questing activity showed no significant differences in tick density across different collection sites, times of the day and province. Our findings indicate a very high density of tick-borne pathogen vectors was observed on cattle in the two farms, which a poses potential risk to cattle productivity in Cambodia.
牛蜱侵袭对全球牲畜健康和生产力构成重大威胁。这些寄生性节肢动物以血液为食，可能导致牛患上各种疾病，如无浆体病、巴贝斯虫病、埃立克体病和泰勒虫病。本研究的目的是了解柬埔寨牛蜱侵袭的季节动态和分布模式。2023年1月至12月，在茶胶省和磅士卑省的两个养牛场进行了一项纵向蜱调查。蜱虫直接从动物宿主身上用细尖镊子或蜱虫扭转器等专用工具采集，也从植被上通过拖拽和旗标法相结合的方式采集。从240头受检牛身上共采集到13678只蜱虫，在两个农场周围的植被中发现了11384只蜱虫。最常见的种类是微小牛蜱复合体（60.6%），而长角血蜱数量较少（0.4%）。未鉴定的种类占采集到的蜱虫的39%，包括未成熟的璃眼蜱属。此外，还通过拖拽和旗标法采集到1只成年林氏璃眼蜱、245只未成熟的血蜱属和11138只璃眼蜱属幼虫。结果显示，两个省份的蜱虫种群动态存在显著的季节差异，雨季时磅士卑省为60.24%，茶胶省为57.09%，而旱季分别为39.76%和42.91%。对搜索活动的统计分析表明，不同采集地点、一天中的时间和省份的蜱虫密度没有显著差异。我们的研究结果表明，在这两个农场的牛身上观察到蜱传病原体载体的密度非常高，这对柬埔寨的牛生产力构成了潜在风险。
