Preliminary study of ectoparasites of horses in the western highlands of Cameroon

Abstract

To evaluate the prevalence of infestation of ectoparasites of horses, a total of 894 horses (367 males and 527 females), aged 1–7 years old were examined. Horses were groomed for collection of ectoparasites. Out of the horses examined, 164 came from Fundong, 80 from Acha, 30 from Fongo‐Tongo, 30 from Fokoue and 17 from Dschang, all of which were infested with ectoparasites. Five hundred and seventy‐three (573) horses came from Banso and 99.48% were infested by ectoparasites. From the results obtained, three species of hard ticks (Boophilus decoloratus, Amblyomma hebraeum and Hyalomma rufipes) and one species of biting lice (Bovicola equi) were identified. Boophilus decoloratus (66%) had the highest prevalence per locality, followed by A. hebraeum (18%), H. rufipes (11%) and B. equi (5%). Boophilus decoloratus infested horses of all ages, sex or colour. Meanwhile, A. hebraeum and H. rufipes had a higher prevalence in adult male horses. Mono‐parasitic infestation (69%) was more common than poly‐parasitic infestation (31%). Only three horses were free from infestation with ectoparasites. Understanding the biology, epidemiology and economic impact on the equine industry is important for public health and disease prevention programmes.

Occurrence of Parasitic Diseases of Horses in Osun State, Nigeria: A Retrospective Evaluation

“…The significantly higher prevalence of tick infestation we recorded during the wet season may be due to high moisture content and lower temperature seen during the season, as rainfall has been reported to favour the development and abundance of ticks and as such have a positive effect on its prevalence (Greenfield, 2011). The statistically significant moderate and positive correlation between the co-diagnoses of babesiosis and tick infestation is attributed to the fact that ticks are the major vector for equine babesiosis (Kerber et al, 2009;Payne et al, 2017).…”

“…Mezgebu et al (2013) reported a similar finding to ours in terms of helminth infections and sex. The prevalence of tick infestation is influenced by the origin of the horse, age, body condition, breed, climate conditions and colour among other factors (Osman et al, 2006;Payne et al, 2017) and this may have resulted in the high prevalence we recorded in female horses as against male. The significantly higher prevalence of tick infestation we recorded during the wet season may be due to high moisture content and lower temperature seen during the season, as rainfall has been reported to favour the development and abundance of ticks and as such have a positive effect on its prevalence (Greenfield, 2011).…”

“…Ectoparasitism in horses that include ticks, mites, flies and lice continue to cause a significant threat to the health of horses. They can aid in the proliferation of life cycle of some internal parasites (Payne et al, 2017). Ectoparasitism is influenced by a number of factors such as age, body condition, breed and climate conditions (Osman et al, 2006).…”

Species distribution and seasonal dynamics of equine tick infestation in two Mediterranean climate niches in Israel

“…The tick species infesting horses found in this survey represent species that are prevalent on livestock throughout the Mediterranean area [ 21 – 25 ], and differ from tick species found on horses elsewhere [ 26 – 28 ]. Almost all ticks found were adults, which suggests that the immature stages infest other host species.…”

Molecular Characterization of Some Equine Vector-Borne Pathogens and Identification of Their Vectors in Egypt

“…Equidae are used in many beneficial activities for human such as police services, agriculture and pharmaceutical purposes, in addition to competitive and non-competitive leisure pursuits [59]. Generally, Equidae, especially donkeys, play a significant role in the transmission of vector borne diseases by acting as a domestic reservoir and carrying vectors to a broad host range or even to human [1].…”