Prevalence of Bovine Tick Infestation and its Associated Risk Factors in Wayu Tuka District Western Ethiopia

Abstract

Ticks are harmful blood-sucking ectoparasites that are widespread across the world but are more economically significant in tropical and subtropical regions. To determine the prevalence of tick infestation in cattle, a cross-sectional study was carried out in the Wayu Tuka district from October 2022 to July 2023. Three study villages were purposefully chosen, and from this chosen kebele, the study populations were chosen using simple random selection techniques. Ticks were identified by their features under a stereomicroscope. In the current study, adult ticks were collected from 384 local and cross breed cattle and examined, of which 108 (28.1%) were infested with different genera of ticks. Ticks were recorded across the study sites, with the highest and lowest prevalences of 29.9%, 27.0%, and 26.7% in Gida Abalo, Gute Badiya, and Bonaya Molo, respectively. No significant difference in prevalence was observed between the three PAs. The major tick genera identified by this study were Amblyomma variegatum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus, Amblyomma coherence, and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, with prevalence’s of 17 (15.74%), 20 (18.51%), 11 (10.18%), and 5 (4.63%), respectively. There was statistical significance (p<0.05) between the body conditions of cattle and tick infestations in the study area. The highest prevalence of tick infestations, 53 (41.1%), was found in animals with poor body conditions, while a low prevalence of 24 (20.7%) was recorded in animals with good body conditions. On the other hand, a statistically significant difference was not observed between the age and sex of animals in the current study area (p>0.05). In general, the results of the present study reveal that there was a high tick infestation in the study area. Therefore, appropriate control measures should be implemented.