Ticks infesting cattle in Pallisa Town Council and Pallisa Sub-county

Abstract

In north-eastern and mid-eastern Uganda where Pallisa district is located, inadequate information on tick diversity is available. A study was conducted in Pallisa Town Council and Pallisa subcounty to identify the tick species infesting cattle and tick distribution. In total, 351 ticks were collected between 10th July 2022 and 14th July 2022 from 191 cattle in two subcounties of Pallisa district and were identified morphologically in the Parasitology laboratory at COVAB. Ticks identified belonged to 8 species: 3 Rhipicephalus species (R. appendiculatus, R. evertsi and R. decoloratus), 3 Amblyomma species (Amblyomma variegatum, Amblyomma lepidum and Amblyomma gemma), 1 Hyalomma species (Hyalomma truncatum) and 1 Haemaphysalis species. The most common tick species were R. decoloratus (157 ticks), A. variegatum (124 ticks), A. lepidum (37 ticks) and R. appediculatus (22). The least abundant tick species were haemaphysalis (1 tick), H. truncatum (2), A. gemma (3 ticks) and R. evertsi (5 ticks). The study expands the knowledge on tick fauna in Pallisa and shows multiple tick species infesting cattle with potential to transmit several tick-borne diseases including zoonotic pathogens. Thus, there is need to develop tick control strategies that can be adopted by farmers in the areas in order to reduce losses due to tick-borne diseases. Further studies are required to determine tick species diversity, distribution and population dynamics in other parts of the district and using molecular methods, is recommended.