Prevalence of Tick Infestation and Theileriosis in Sheep and Goats
Nausheen Irshad, M. Qayyum, M. Hussain1 and M. Qasim Khan1*
Department of Zoology, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid AgricultureUniversity,
Rawalpindi; 1Animal Health Program,
Animal Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad,
Pakistan
*Corresponding author: qasim1952@yahoo.co.uk
Abstract
The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of tick
infestation and theileriosis in small ruminants maintained at National
Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad
and Barani Livestock Production Research Institute (BLPRI) Kherimurat district Attock,
Pakistan. A total of 662 animals (219 sheep and
443 goats) were screened for the presence of ticks. Of these, 95(43.37%) sheep
and 184(41.53%) goats were found infested with different species of ticks. The
difference in prevalence of ticks between two farms in sheep and goats
(combined) was statistically significant (P≤0.01). Difference in the prevalence
during different months of study at NARC was non significant (χ2=0.95596),
whereas at BLPRI this difference was significant (P≤ 0.01). Ticks were
identified on the basis of their morphological features. Rhipicephalus
spp was found to be the most abundant tick infesting both in sheep and goats.
Prevalence of theileriosis in sheep was 7.36% (7/95), while in goats it was 3.8%
(7/184), the difference being statistically non significant (χ2=0.6427).