Prevalence of ticks infesting livestock of Kashmir valley

Abstract

In the present study, the prevalence of ticks infesting livestock of Kashmir valley was carried out from March to August 2016. A total of 479 animals (including 230 sheep, 112 equines, 70 goats, 61 cattle and 6 dogs) were screened out of which, 200 (41.75%) animals were found infested with ticks which included 121 sheep (52.61%), 23 equines (20.53%), 38 goats (54.28%), 15 cattle (24.59%) and 3 dogs (50.00%). The different genera of ticks encountered during this study were Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus and Ornithodoros. The sheep were found to be infested with Haemaphysalis spp. (73.68%) and Ornithodoros spp. (26.32%); goats with Haemaphysalis spp. (85.74%) and Rhipicephalus spp. (14.26%); cattle and equines with Haemaphysalis spp. only (100%) and dogs with Haemaphysalis spp. (88.88%) and Rhipicephalus spp. (11.12%).