New foci of Rhipicephalus microplus in West Africa

Abstract

The invasive character of Rhipicephalus microplus was observed in Benin, the second West-African country from which this tick species has been collected after the initial confirmed record in Ivory Coast in 2007. A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Mono to examine the presence of the tick Rhipicephalus microplus. The survey covered 9 herds (villages) in an agro-ecological zone inhabited by agro-pastoralists, including the State Farm of Kpinnou that imported Girolando cattle from Brazil. Almost 800 ticks were sampled from 36 cattle, on average four cattle per village.The morphological identification revealed ticks of two different genera: Rhipicephalus spp. and Amblyomma spp. Within the genus Rhipicephalus, R. microplus was the only representative of the species previously known as Boophilus or blue ticks. Its taxonomic identity was confirmed molecularly by PCR-RFLP.A comparison was made with the situation of R. microplus in Brazil.

Current Limitations in the Control and Spread of Ticks that Affect Livestock: A Review

“…No R. annulatus or R. geigyi were recovered, although they had previously been recorded in this region. The presence of R. microplus was further confirmed by extensive surveys in Benin [12,13]. The importation of Girolando cattle from Brazil to the Ivory Coast and Benin most likely caused the introduction of R. microplus to these countries [13].…”

“…It has been concluded [9] that there is no single, ideal solution for the control of ticks because tick control is only one component of farm management. Recent studies have addressed the possible causes and trends related to the introduction and spread of foreign species of ticks into a territory [10][11][12][13]. The causes of tick introduction and spread include the uncontrolled movements of domestic or wild animals, small but sustained climate trends, and changes in the use of land resources that allow for the increased abundance of tick hosts.…”

“…After ticks are introduced to a region, they may persist only if the climate is compatible with the requirements of the ticks and if sufficient hosts are available. Upon the introduction of ticks into territories where no competition with other species of ticks exist, they will most likely colonize the complete range of abiotic conditions that is compatible with their physiological plasticity, similar to that which occurred in Australia with R. australis or western Africa with R. microplus [13]. Detailed surveys of ticks introduced into foreign territories exist only in the United States [14][15][16].…”

Detection of Leishmania (V) guyanensis in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from Pecari tajacu

“…Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus se ha reportado como vector de Babesia bigemina, B. bovis y Anaplasma marginale y está presente en regiones tropicales y subtropicales en todo el mundo (15,16), pertenece a la familia Ixodidae, y parasita ovejas y ganado vacuno (16). Tiene una gran capacidad invasiva debido a su gran movilidad para buscar alimento y se distribuye ampliamente en América, África y Oceanía (17). Desde el punto de vista económico, R. microplus genera notables pérdidas en la ganadería bovina y ovina debido a la anemia que provoca en los animales por la succión de la sangre y por la trasmisión de agentes patógenos causantes de enfermedades como la babesiosis y la anaplasmosis (18).…”

First record of the pantropical blue tick Rhipicephalus microplus in Namibia

“…It is also present in Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia (Mason and Norval 1980;Berkvens et al 1998;Wedderburn et al 1999;Horak et al 2009). Furthermore, it has recently been reported in the Ivory Coast and Benin in West Africa (Madder et al 2007(Madder et al , 2012.…”