Prevalence and microhabit preference of Hyalomma dromedarii infesting camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aim: Hyalomma dromedarii is hematophagous ectoparasites and can transmit viruses and it is a vector of protozoan diseases such as theileriosis in camels, and bacterial diseases such as Q fever and spotted fever rickettsia. This study was conducted to evaluate infestation prevalence, abundance, intensity, and microhabitat of H. dromedarii on camels. Materials and Methods This study was conducted in Al Baha area, Saudi Arabia from April 2022 to March 2023. A total of 120 adult camels (Camelus dromedarius) were randomly selected. Ticks were morphologically identified under a stereomicroscope using available taxonomic keys. Results The overall infestation prevalence of H. dromedarii was (63.33%). The range of tick load in infested camels were 5–35 ticks/camel. The overall mean abundance and mean intensity of H. dromedarii were (13.29 ± 12.66) and (21.27 ± 9.27) respectively. The number of male ticks was higher than the number of female ticks. The sex proportion of male and female was 67.95% and 32.05% for male and female respectively. The infestation prevalence of H. dromedarii was at its highest rate during the summer (90%), whereas winter had the lowest infestation rate (26.67%). The mean infestation abundance and mean infestation intensity of H. dromedarii varied significantly per season. Positive associations were found between infestation parameters of H. dromedarii and temperature, precipitation / rainfall, and humidity. The tail area had the highest prevalence (63.33%), and mean abundance of tick (6.45 ± 6.03 ticks/host). A combination of chemical control and manual tick removal was used for tick management by farm owners. Moreover, a combination of external and internal chemical control for parasites for camel was recorded. Conclusion The current study showed that H. dromedarii ticks had a high prevalence on the camels. No study has been conducted to examine the acaricide resistance status in the country. As a result, future study should investigate and track resistance in tick populations and further epidemiological and molecular studies should be carried out to monitor the distribution of tick species and tick-borne diseases to prevent threats to human health and animal.