Morphological identification, seasonal prevalence, and predilection sites of hard tick species infesting cattle in four municipalities of the province of Tiaret, northwest Algeria

Abstract

Hard ticks are blood-sucking obligatory ectoparasites that infest all species of domestic ruminants worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine the identity, seasonal prevalence, and predilection sites of hard tick species infesting cattle in four municipalities of the province of Tiaret, northwest Algeria, during the period May 2022 to May 2023. Out of the 317 cattle that were examined in total, 111 (35.02%) were found to be infested with hard ticks. The overall mean intensity and mean abundance were assessed at 15.78 ticks/infested cow and 5.53 ticks/cow, respectively. A total of 1752 adult ticks were collected; three genera and nine species were identified. As a result, H. excavatum (43.78%), H. marginatum (20.15%), H. lusitanicum (18.32%), H. scupence (8.73%), R. bursa (7.53%), H. impeltatum (0.74%), R. (Boophilus) annulatus (0.46%), R. sanguineus (0.23%), and D. marginatus (0.06%). For the majority of tick species found, higher numbers of male ticks were collected than female ticks. Seasonally, the summer season (38.01%) had the highest frequency (p-value < 0.001) of hard ticks’ infestation, followed by spring (23.34%), winter (21.35%), and autumn (17.29%). Ticks were widely distributed in four body zones on cattle, with the highest distribution on zone 5 (95.43%) (p-value < 0.001), which includes the sternum, abdomen, udder, scrotum, and inner sides of the hind legs, and the lowest distribution on zone 1 (0.06%), which includes the legs and hooves. The research indicates that economically significant ticks are prevalent in all studied municipalities, indicating a warning sign.