Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) affect the productivity of bovines in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, leading to a significant adverse impact on the livelihoods of resource-poor farming communities. Globally, four main TBDs, namely anaplasmosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, and cowdriosis (heartwater) affect bovines, and the former three are of major economic importance in bovines in Pakistan. Given that the livestock sector has become an integral part of Pakistan’s economy and a large number of dairy cattle are being imported into the country, in order to meet an increasing demand of milk and milk products, it is timely to review current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan and to identify gaps in the knowledge of TBDs and their control. Although there has been a recent increase in the number of studies of TBDs in this country, information on their prevalence, distribution, tick vectors, and control is limited. This article provides a brief background on key bovine TBDs and ticks and reviews the current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of these diseases, propose areas for future research and draw attention to the need for improved tools for the diagnosis and control of TBDs in this country.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDis) are a major constraint to the health and production of small ruminants in Pakistan. Despite being the subject of intermittent studies over the past few decades, comprehensive information on the epidemiology and control of TTBDis is lacking. Herein, we have systematically reviewed the current knowledge on TTBDis of small ruminants in Pakistan. Critical appraisal of the selected 71 articles published between 1947 to 2020 revealed that morphological examination had been the most widely used method for the identification of TTBDis in Pakistan. Tick fauna comprise at least 40 species, mainly belonging to Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus. The prevalence of ticks is the highest in summer (June–September) and it is also higher in goats than sheep. Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria spp. are the major tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), and their prevalence is usually higher in sheep than goats. Spatio-temporal distribution, genetic diversity and control of ticks and TBPs of small ruminants as well as the competence of tick vectors for various TBPs remain to be explored. Therefore, coordinated and focused investigations are required to fill knowledge gaps in these areas to maximise the health, production and welfare of small ruminants and minimise economic losses associated with TTBDis in Pakistan.