| dc.description.abstract | Ticks are known to be a major constraint to livestock production worldwide and Uganda in Particular. The purpose of this study was to establish the major tick species and the drivers to the tick infestation among cattle in Ruyonza sub-county, Kyegegwa district. This was a cross sectional study where a total of 385 cattle from the five parishes in Ruyonza sub-county selected. Thorough scrutiny of the animals was done while carrying out regional body tick counts from the head, ear, dewlap, neck, forelimb and brisket, back to belly, gluteal area, thigh, udder and hind limb, and perineum and tail. The tick enumeration was done and a few representative ticks were taken to College of Veterinary medicine, Animal resources and Bio-security for observation under a stereo-microscope to morphologically identify the different ticks. Field observations and questionnaire-interviews were used to find out the factors leading to the tick infestation among cattle in the study area. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS Version20). The prevalent ticks were Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (n=14754; 53.8%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus (n=7410; 27%) and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (n=5280; 19.2%). The tick infestation levels were heavy (8.8%), low (22.9%), and moderate (68.3%). The potential risk factors for tick burden among cattle were breed (p<0.001), grazing system (p=0.031) and spraying frequency (p<0.001). Ticks are therefore a challenge in Ruyonza sub-county therefore proper tick control measures should be practiced such as practicing acaricide rotations, following the respective acaricide manufacturers’ instructions when reconstituting the acaricide spray, avoid communal grazing, regular spraying of all the livestock on the farm; to mention but a few. | en_US |
