PREVALENCE OF BOVINE IXODID TICKS WITH AMITRAZ AND DIAZINON IN VITRO EFFICACY EVALUATION IN BEDANO AND GOLA ODA DISTRICTS OF EASTERN HARARGE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Ethiopia has the biggest number of domestic animals on the continent and the highest livestock population in the world, ranking first in Africa and tenth overall in the world. The evolution of tick resistance to acaricides has been a major determinant of the need for new products, the efficacy of chemical acaricides can be investigated from trials at in vitro or in vivo to choose the appropriate acaricides. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2022 to October 2022 Prevalence of Bovine Ixodid Ticks With Amitraz and Diazinon In Vitro Efficacy Evaluation In Bedano and Gola Oda Districts of Eastern Hararge, Ethiopia. To find out the major factors associated with the occurrence of ticks and to identify common tick genera and species. A total of 222 cattle were selected randomly and examined, of which 222 (100%) were found to be infested by one or more tick genera and species. Out of the examined cattle, 76.6%, 27.93% and 8.1% were found infested by Rhipicephalus spp., Hyalomma spp. and Amblyomma spp., respectively. The study looked at the relationship between infestation with Rhipicephalus spp., Hyalomma spp. and Amblyomma spp. and potential risk factors including woreda, sex, age, body condition scores, and herd size all of them showed a significant association with the occurrence of tick infestation (p <0.05). A total of 626 adult ticks were collected from animal body parts and identified to genera and species level. Four genera and five tick species were identified. The proportions for the tick infestation for Amblyomma (8.5%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decolaratus (6.07%), Hyalomma (19.5%), and Rhipicephalus (18.21%) were reported in the study area. Those identified species were: 10.22%, 5.59%, 0.15%, 19.5%, and 8.5% of cattle found in Bedano and Gola Oda to be infested by Rhipicephalus sanguineous, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus praetextatus, Hyalomma and Amblyomma variegatum. Rhipicephalus pulchellus (30.4%) was found to be the most abundant genera, while Hyalomma Analoticm (0.8%) accounted for the least prevalent tick species. On in vitro acaricidal efficacy test, amitraz and diazinon resulted in 90% and 88.3% reductions in mean tick count compared to the control. The acaricidal efficacy of amitraz was superior over diazinon as it showed the highest percentage. Therefore, effective control measures should be undertaken to bring the needed health and productive animals in Gola oda and Bedano woredas.