Ixodid ticks on cattle belonging to small-scale farmers at 4 communal grazing areas in South Africa

Abstract

Ixodid ticks were collected during the period September 1991 to August 1993 from cattle belonging to small-scale farmers utilising 4 communal grazing areas. Three of these were in North West Province and 1 in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Ten tick species were collected in North West Province and 7 in Mpumalanga. The adults of Amblyomma hebraeum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi were most numerous in North West Province, while in Mpumalanga Boophilus decoloratus comprised more than 75% of the total population. Amblyomma hebraeum was present on all grazing areas, and heavy infestations of adults occurred during the period October to May on 1 of these. Few B. decoloratus were collected in North West Province, chiefly because the sampling method was inadequate, and most of these were present during early summer (October to December) and late summer and autumn (March to May). The initially low population of B. decoloratus in Mpumalanga increased substantially towards the conclusion of the survey, probably because of the cessation of dipping. Boophilus microplus was present in small numbers on 2 grazing areas in the North West Province. Adult Hyalomma marginatum rufipes reached peak numbers from December to February and Hyalomma truncatum from February to April in the North West Province. Only H. marginatum rufipes was collected in Mpumalanga. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus was present on all the grazing areas, with most adults present from December to April. Most adult Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi were collected from September to April and Rhipicephalus simus was present during the period October-April.

Tick loads in cattle raised on sweet and sour rangelands in the low-input farming areas of South Africa

“…Rechav 1982;Horak et al 2002;Horak 1999). Tick control programmes in the commercial farming sector differ considerably from those in the communal farming areas (Bryson et al 2002). Commercial farmers rely on intensive tick control using acaricides, while resource-poor farmers cannot afford commercial acaricides and resort to using traditional medicines to control ticks (Hesterberg et al 2007).…”

Goats as alternative hosts of cattle ticks

“…There are no tick species that infest either of these hosts to the exclusion of the other, but whereas goats are often the hosts of large numbers of immature ticks and fewer adults (Baker & Ducasse 1968;Bryson et al 2002a;MacIvor & Horak 2003), cattle may harbour large numbers of both adult and immature ticks (Baker & Ducasse 1967;Horak 1982Horak , 1999Rechav 1982;Bryson et al 2002b). There may, however, also be considerable proportional differences in the species composition of adult ticks on goats and cattle on the same farm (Fourie et al 1996).…”

Transovarial passage and transmission of LSDV by Amblyomma hebraeum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus decoloratus

“…The findings of this study and other published LSDV transmission studies (Tuppurainen et al 2013a, Tuppurainen et al 2013b) indicate a high possibility for ticks to be reservoir hosts for LSDV in nature. The overwintering period in the life cycle of some tick species such as R. decoloratus ticks (after repletion of adults) (Bryson et al 2002, Walker 2003, may play a significant role in the overwintering of LSDV. The limitations on the number of test animals used did not allow the use of statistical analysis in this study and more comprehensive investigations may be required to fully ascertain transovarial passage of LSDV in ticks in the field settings.…”