A study on Ixodid ticks of cattle in the forest area of Babol district, Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran
Paper ID : 1011-IPCA4 (R1)
Authors:
Mohsen Karami *1, Mojtaba Taghizadeh Armaki1, Abazar Pournajaf2, Saeid Mahdavi Omran1, Ramazan Rajabnia2
1Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Health Research Center,Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
2Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Health Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Abstract:
Introduction:

There are many genera and species of ticks in the family Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks) that are of public health importance. Ixodid ticks are one of the most abundant haematophagous ectoparasites of domestic animals in Iran. They are obligatory blood sucking arthropods play a significant role as vectors of pathogen agents in human and animals. Thus, the aim of this study was to identification the Ixodid ticks fauna of grazing cattle in the forest area of Babol district, Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran.


Methods:
Hard ticks collected from cattle in Four locations of Babol’s forestic area during 2018. Ticks were identified to the species level using valid identification keys (Delpy,1938; Hoogstraal et al., 1959, 1981; Walker et al. 2003; Hosseini-Chegeni et al., 2014).


Results:
Totally , 320 ticks specimens were collected from cattle host. Three species of ticks were identified with parentages in parenthesis: the number of 160 Ixodes ricinus (50%), 122 Boophilus annulatus (38%), 25 Rhipicephalus bursa (8%) and 13 Haemaphysalis punctata (4%). The most dominant species was Ixodes ricinus. Results showed that 56.5% of cattle were infested with ticks.
Conclusion:
The results show that Ixodes ricinus, Boophilus annulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa are dominant tick species in Babol and other areas in Caspian sea region in Iran.
Keywords:
Babol, Cattle, Ixodid ticks, Identification
Status : Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation)