Tick-borne pathogens interactions enhance transmission in cattle and ticks in Ogun, Nigeria

The study was conducted in Ogun state, in Southwest Nigeria between March and September 2013. Ticks were collected during the wet season when tick populations are known to be abundant and all species of ticks are likely to be present (Bayer et al., 1984; Walker et al., 2003). The study involved 21 different herds of cattle from eight Local Government Areas covering all agroecological zones of Ogun State, Nigeria (Figure 1). Additionally, ten grazing routes used by cattle in the State were covered by the study. Farms were selected randomly using the snowballing approach as described by Parker et al. (2019), where one farmer provided a link to another for the sampling.

Inclusion criteria and ethical consideration

The inclusion criteria for animals in this study were limited to those with ticks on their bodies, irrespective of age, or sex. Although these data were not considered for the selection of the animals, they were noted. For a subsequent analysis, it was considered that enrolled animals belonged to eleven cattle breeds: Dageri, Jali, Muturu, N’dama, Red Bororo (RB),** RB cross, RB-WF cross, Segiri, Sokoto Gudali, **White Fulani (WF) and WF-N’dama cross. Consent from the owners was obtained before recruiting the animals for sampling. Approval for the study was obtained from the University of Ibadan Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee (UI-ACUREC).

Spatial data collection

Geographical coordinates of the farm herds and grazing routes were recorded using GPS equipment (Garmin® eTrex 10 Outdoor Handheld GPS Unit Made in USA). The coordinates were instrumental in the construction of the maps depicting the distribution of identified ticks in the sampled areas, utilizing ArcGIS as described by Ekpo et al. (2008). For the analysis of the spatial distribution of tick species in the study region, spatial collected data from previous studies were also included (Adedayo et al., 2018).

本项研究于2013年3月至9月期间在尼日利亚西南部的奥贡州进行。研究采集了湿季期间的蜱虫样本，因为在此期间蜱虫种群已知数量庞大，且所有蜱虫种类均有可能出现（Bayer et al., 1984；Walker et al., 2003）。研究覆盖了奥贡州八个地方政府区域，共21个不同牧群，涉及该州所有农业生态区（见图1）。此外，研究还包括了该州牛群使用的十个放牧路线。采用Parker et al.（2019）所述的滚雪球方法随机选取农场，即一位农场主为另一位农场主提供采样链接。

纳入标准与伦理考量
本研究纳入的动物仅限于体表有蜱虫的个体，不考虑年龄或性别。尽管这些数据未用于动物的选取，但已予以记录。为了后续分析，考虑纳入的动物属于以下十一种牛种：Dageri、Jali、Muturu、N’dama、红 Bororo (RB)、RB杂交种、RB-WF杂交种、Segiri、Sokoto Gudali、白福拉尼 (WF) 和 WF-N’dama杂交种。在招募动物进行采样前，已获得动物所有者的同意。本研究获得伊巴丹大学动物护理与使用研究伦理委员会（UI-ACUREC）的批准。

空间数据采集
使用GPS设备（美国制造Garmin® eTrex 10户外手持GPS单元）记录了农场牧群和放牧路线的地理坐标。这些坐标对于构建描绘采样区域已鉴定蜱虫分布的地图至关重要，利用ArcGIS软件进行，如Ekpo et al.（2008）所述。为了分析研究区域蜱虫物种的空间分布，还纳入了先前研究收集的空间数据（Adedayo et al., 2018）。