Prevalence and identification of tick species on large ruminants from district Rajanpur in Punjab Pakistan

Ticks are most prevalent vectors for the transmission of tick-borne diseases to animals (both wild and domesticated) as well as humans. Due to the favourable subtropical conditions of Pakistan, ticks are abundant and parasitize ruminants resulting in their morbidity and mortality causing economic losses to owners. In the present study, a total of 991 ticks from bovines (n = 690 from cattle; n = 301 from buffaloes) were collected during July to October 2019 from six sampling sites in Rajanpur District to report identification and prevalence of collected tick species. During the current investigation, 16 species of ticks belonging to 3 genera were identified: <i>Hyalomma</i> (<i>Hy</i>.) <i>anatolicum, Hy. excavatum, Hy. dromedarii, Hy. impeltatum, Hy. marginatum, Hy. impressum, Hy. scupense, Hy. rufipes, Hy. detritum, Hy. truncatum, Rhiphicephalus</i> (<i>Rh</i>.) <i>sanguineus, Rh. turanicus, Rh. annulatus, Rh. parvas, Ixodes</i> (<i>Ix</i>.) <i>pilosus</i> and <i>I. ricinus. Hyalomma</i> ticks were most prevalent (85%) followed by <i>Rhipicephalus</i> (10%) and <i>Ixodes</i> (4%) on enrolled animals. Tick prevalence varied between sampling sites (P = 0.007). Tick infestation was significantly higher (P &lt; 0.001) in cattle (70%) than buffaloes (30%). Udder was the most preferred site of tick infestation in enrolled animals (P &lt; 0.05) as compared to other predilection sites.