Diversity and Geographic Distribution of Dog Tick Species in Sri Lanka and the Life Cycle of Brown Dog Tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus Under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract

Background: Tick infestations and tick-borne diseases have become a major emerging health concern of dogs in Sri Lanka. Information about tick species infesting dogs and their geographic distribution in Sri Lanka is largely unknown. Here we determined the tick species infesting the dogs and their distribution, and described the life cycle parameters of the dominant dog tick species under laboratory conditions.Methods: An island-wide, cross-sectional survey of tick species infesting the domestic dog was carried out, and the life cycle of the major dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus was studied under laboratory conditions.Results: A total of 3,026 ticks were collected from 1,219 dogs of different breeds in all 25 districts in the three climatic zones: Wet, Dry, and Intermediate zones. Eight species in ve genera were identi ed: Rh. sanguineus (63.4%), Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides (22.0%), Haemaphysalis bispinosa (12.5%), Haemaphysalis intermedia (0.9%), Haemaphysalis turturis (0.6%), Amblyomma integrum (0.4%), Dermacentor auratus (0.2%) and Hyalomma sp (0.06%). The brown dog tick, Rh. sanguineus was the dominant species in the Dry and Wet zones, while Rh. haemaphysaloides was the dominant species in the Intermediate zone. Species diversity (presented as Shannon diversity index H) in the three was 1.135, 1.021and 0.849 in Intermediate, Dry and Wet zones, respectively. Adults formed 94.7% with a signi cantly higher number of females, and the rest were nymphs. Rhipicephalus sanguineus preferred the anterior side of the host body, speci cally the inner and outer side of the ear. In contrast, Rh. haemaphysaloides preferred the posterior side, mainly the fore and hind limbs. The three-host life cycle of Rh. sanguineus was completed within 70-126 days, all three stages successfully fed on the New Zealand white rabbits under laboratory conditions. The mean Reproductive E ciency Index (REI) and Reproductive Fitness Index (RFI) were 50.8±9.69 and 9.1±5.01, respectively. Larger females had higher reproductive success. Conclusion:The dominant dog tick species and the species diversity varied in different climatic regions of Sri Lanka. The three-host life cycle of Rh. sanguineus was successfully completed on the New Zealand white rabbits under laboratory conditions. Information on diversity, distribution and life cycle parameters is fundamental for studies of canine tick-borne infections, zoonoses, and their epidemiology.

Prevalence and Distribution of Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Domestic Animals from Solapur District, Maharashtra, India

“…Lotfi et al (2021) have identified seven species of hard ticks in the cattle of in Jijel Province (northeastern Algeria). Bandaranayaka et al (2022) have reported eight species of brown dog ticks belonging to five genera and noted that the species diversity of brown dog ticks varies in different climatic regions of Sri Lanka.…”

“…Ticks acts as potential vector along with reservoirs of infectious agents (Pasteurella multocida, Brucella abortus and Salmonella typhimurium) in animals and man (Rony et al, 2010). Bandaranayaka et al (2022) reported that tick infestations and tick-borne diseases have become a major emerging health concern of dogs in Sri Lanka. Ticks infest mostly all types of domestic animals and acts as vectors for the transmission of tick-borne infections in human and animal population worldwide (de la Fuentem et al, 2017;Iqbal et al, 2022).…”

Essential oil pharmaceuticals for killing ectoparasites on dogs

“…However, tick species Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick species and the Ctenocephalides felis flea species (cat flea) are the most common pests affecting dogs and cats [ 4 5 6 ]. The entire life cycle of ticks ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus ) occurs on dog hosts [ 7 ] and be completed in 70-126 days under normal environmental conditions and host availability [ 8 ], whereas the life cycle of fleas mostly occurs outside dogs [ 9 ]. The female fleas can produce 40-50 eggs per day and average of 1,350 eggs over a 50 day period [ 9 ].…”

Molecular characterization of Amblyomma geoemydae using CO1 mitochondrial gene to validate phenotypic taxonomical evaluation

“…In an account of their propensity to transmit pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites, ticks rank second among arthropods in tropical regions behind mosquitoes (Ariyarathne et al 2016 ). Only a few of the 106 tick species (Bandaranayaka et al 2022 ) discovered in India serve as carriers of disease pathogens. In Kerala, at least 24 different species of ticks have been reported belonging to the genera Amblyomma , Dermacentor , Haemaphysalis , and Rhipicephalus .…”