View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2014; 4(3): 209-212 209 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apjtb Document heading doi:10.1016/S2221-1691(14)60233-1 2014 by Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. All rights reserved. 襃 Survey on cattle ticks in Nur, north of Iran Ashkan Ghasemi Moghaddam1, Mozafar Razavi Seyed1, Mehrshad Rasouli1, Sajad Hosseinzade1, Mohammad Mehdi * Darvishi2, Arash Rakhshanpour3, Mohammad Taghi Rahimi4,5 1Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Babol Branch, Iran 2Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran 3Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran 5Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Babol Branch, Iran PEER REVIEW ABSTRACT Peer reviewer Objective: To survey the prevalence of cattle ticks in Nur County and prepare a list of tick fauna Mohammad Reza Youssefi, Assistant inMethods: this district. Professor, Department of Veterinary This investigation was carried out on 150 head of cattle ticks of rural areas of Nur Parasitology, Islamic Azad University, city which is located in Mazandaran province during spring and summer seasons of 2011. The Bbabol-Branch. collectedResults: ticks were identified using light microscope and available systematic keys. +9811148631 1 563 Tel: A total numberIxodes of ricinus ticks were isolated from examinedBoophilus cattle and annulatus their genus and E-mail: [email protected] numbers including: 51% (111 male and 691 female) and 49% (83 ) Comments maleConclusions: and 678 female , respectively. Results of the current investigationIxodes indicate ricinus the presenceBoophilus of two species annulatus of acarine This is a good study in which the ectoparasites which have potential health risk and . More authors surveyed ticks of cattle in Nur studies are required to increase our data concerning ticks and other ectopreasites of ruminants County. in other areas of Mazandaran province and should be noted to their ability in transmission of The results are valuable as there is infectious agents. not published data regarding ticks of livestock animals in this area. In addition, the proba-ble dangers of the causative agent of disease which are KEYWORDS transmitted by the isolated ticks were highlighted properly. Acarine ecotoparasites, Tick, Livestock, Cattle, Public health risk, Iran Details on Page 211 1. Introduction irritation and anemia. Moreover, ticks are responsible for serious economic losses of animal owners particularly in Ticks ( Arachnida: Acari: Parasitiformes ) are livestock industries[1,2]. Ticks are classified into two major hematophagous arthropods and obligatory ectoparasites families, Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft tick). The which are considered significant in both veterinary and family Ixodidae comprises nearly 700 species including two medical field by acting as vector of serious pathogens major morphological and phylogenetic groups which are the Babesia Thileria Rickettsia Anaplasma such as , , , spp. Metastriata and the Prostriata. They have ability of infesting Borrelia and . When these obligatory ectoparasites attach a wide variety of hosts such as mammals, birds, reptiles and to a host for the aime of blood sucking, they induce skin amphibians. In addition, hard ticks are distributed broadly *Corresponding author: Mohammad Taghi Rahimi, Department of Parasitology and Article history: Mycology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Sari, Iran Received 19 Dec 2013 and Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Babol Branch, Iran. Received in revised form 22 Dec, 2nd revised form 30 Dec, 3rd revised form 10 Jan 2013 Tel: +989122930625. Accepted 25 Feb 2014 E-mail: [email protected] Available online 28 Mar 2014 Foundation Project: Supported by the Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Babol Branch (Grant No. BPJ1391). Ghasemi Moghaddam Ashkan et al./Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2014; 4(3): 209-212 210 throughout the world[3,4]. Thereafter, isolated ticks were counted and separately The prevalence of the tick species which are involved on stored in 70% ethanol, labeled with the date until the species the transmission and their geographical distribution for the determination. Afterwards, all of crucial characters of tick purpose of control and tick borne diseases are a matter of samples were studied precisely. Their identification was high importance. Although Nur County has considerable undertaken based on taxonomic and structural differences superficial water resources which prepare an ideal area of the species by means of stereoscope (Nikon SMZ1500) for agriculture and animal husbandry, there is not enough and light microscope (Nikon. Microphoy-FXA) which was information concerning tick fauna of different hosts in this equipped by camera (Memmert D-91126) according to district. Therefore, the current investigation was conducted available systematic keys[5-7]. to survey the prevalence of cattle ticks in Nur County and prepare a list of tick fauna in this district. 3. Results 2. Materials and methods During the study, among 11 villages, a total number of 1 563 ticks were isolated from 150 examined cattle from 25 herds. 2.1. Study area The mean intensity for each animal was 10.42. Two tick genera and species were observed and recognized during ° ′ ″ ° ’ ° ′ ″ 2 Ixodes ricinus I. ricinus Nur County (36 34 25 N, 52 40 52 00 50 E) (2 675.00 km ) is the study including: ( ) 802 (51%) (111 Boophilus annulatus B. annulatus located on the Caspian Sea coast and belongs to Mazandaran male, 691 female) and ( ) 761 province. This area embraces abundant superficial water (49%) (51 male and 710 female) (Figures 2 and 3). Totally 1 401 resources which is proper for agriculture and animal female and 162 male ticks were extracted from examined husbandry. This district contains pastures and forests which cattle. Moreover, no soft tick (Argasidae family) was are favorable for cattle grazing (Figure 1). observed. µ 1 000 m Ardabil East Azarbaijan Caspian Sea N W orth est Khorasan Azarbaijan Zanjan Gilan Golestan Qazvin Mazandran Razavi Kurdestan Khorasan Hamedan TEHRAN Semnan Kermanshah Markazi Qom Lurestan llam Esfahan Chahar Mahal South Khuzestan va Bakhtiari Yazd Khorasan Kohkiuyeh va Boyer ahmad K erman Figure 2. I. ricinus Sistan va Extracted tick ( ) from cattle. Fars Baluchestan Bushehr Hormozgan µ Persian Gulf 1 000 m Sea of Oman Figure 1. Map of Iran, highlighting the position of Nur County in Mazandaran province. 2.2. Tick collection An investigation was carried out on ticks of 150 heads of cattle from 25 herds of 11 villages during the hot and humid months (the spring and summer) of 2011 from rural areas of Nur County, Mazandaran province, Iran. Tick sampling was undertaken on all body of each animal at different intervals. Figure 3. B. annulatus Extracted tick ( ) from cattle. Ghasemi Moghaddam Ashkan et al./Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2014; 4(3): 209-212 211 4. Discussion Hy. marginatum Hy. anatolicum (12 5%) (5 2%) Hy. asiaticum . Hy., detritum excavatumDermacentor . , (0 6%) (0 2%) B.. annulatus, Rh. bursa, and I (0 1%) n the present investigation, two tick generaI. ricinusand species spp. and and were the most I (51%) [16] from B.xodidae annulatus family were found, including prevalent tick species . (49%) I T 15 and . n addition, the number Ixodesof female he following ixodid tick species were recognized over S Z ticks was noticeably higher than male. pecies of are the survey period fromBoophilus cattle, kohlsisheep and goatsR. sanguineus in agros L (3 6%) vectors of major Borreliadiseases burgdorferisuch as yme disease, caused by mountainousRh. bursa areas: Rhipicephalus . turanicus (4 5%) (21 9%) (2 9%) the spirochaete , human granulocytic Dermacentor. , niveus . , Dermacentor raskemensis . , R M (12 9%) (4 1%) ehrlichiosis, ocky ountain spotted fever tick paralysis, Dermacentor marginatus . , Haemaphysalis punctata . , P [8,9] (7 3%) owassan encephalitisB. annulatus virus and babesiosis . Hyalomma parva . , Hyalomma choldokovskyi I (3 5%) (0 6%) n addition, belongs to subfamily . , Hy. anatolicum excavatum . , Hy. anatolicum R T A (2 0%) (4 8%) hipicephalinae. hey are all one-host ticks. ll stages anatolicum. , Hy. asiaticum asiaticum. , Hy. (5 2%) (7 3%) including larval, nymphal, and adult spend on the sameBoophilus host marginatum marginatum. , Hy. detritum . detritum, S (13 0%) and this is a rare features among ticks. pecies of . , and Rhipicephalus C C (5 9%)[17] I S are vectors of rimean- ongo hemorrhagic fever, ganjon . Hyalomma. n an investigation in avajbolgh, N T K [18] I viruses, bhanja virus inAnaplasma igeria and marginale hogoto virus in enya. and were the most obtained ticks . Hyalomman another M K oreover, rickettsia Boophilus is carried to similar study in erman, prevailing species was A B [19] cattle by all three species of in frica. Boophilusy far, the in examined cattles . most important disease transmitted by a species of The authors draw a conclusion based on the results is Texas cattle fever, also called red-water fever. The agent of current investigation that there is a probable risk of B. bigemina[10] I. ricinus B. annulatus of