Tick control practices and Acaricide susceptibility profiles of ticks collected from three sub counties of Yumbe District

Abstract

The large livestock population in Uganda is faced with TTBD challenges that affects their productivity, control of ticks and tick-borne diseases largely depends on the use of chemicals which makes farmers in Uganda to extensively rely on use of acaricides for their control. However, there are reports of multi acaricide resistant ticks in Uganda. This study was conducted in the three sub counties of Yumbe District to assess the tick control practices and acaricide susceptibility of ticks to selected commercially available acaricides on Ugandan market. A total of 381 Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma ticks were collected from 9 farms and were subjected to both AIT and LPT assays. In addition, a total of 150 farmers were interviewed on tick control practices. Fully engorged Amblyomma variegatum ticks were incubated and allowed to lay eggs and hatched to larvae which were used for LPT assays. The percentage mortalities obtained at AIT assays were 100%, 8.3%, 75% and 91.7% for synthetic pyrethroids, amitraz, co-formulation and organophosphates respectively against A. variegatum while 33.3%, 66.7%. 83.3%, and 66.7% for synthetic pyrethroids, amitraz, co-formulation and organophosphate respectively against Rhipicephalus (boophilus) decoloratus with 80% not susceptible to synthetic pyrethroids. The LPT assay results were 98.7%, 58.6%, 99.2% and 100% for synthetic pyrethroids, amitraz, co-formulation and organophosphate respectively. For tick control practices, most farmers kept local zebu cattle (92.0%) on communal grazing system (58.7%), tethering at (38%) with majority of the farms largely (97.3%) unfenced. Majority of the farmers (96.7%) used acaricides, with spraying technique (97.3%), commonly applied using Knapsack sprayer (48%), hand sprayers (37.3%), bucket pump (11.3%). Animals majorly sprayed after four weeks (72.0%), (16%) sprayed weekly while others never sprayed their animals. Poor animal restraint techniques like tying up animals using ropes for spraying (59.3%), boma/ kraal (34.0%). Tick control in Yumbe District needs a robust and aggressive strategies so as to reduce the pervasiveness of the resistant ticks.