Status of tick infections among semi-wild cattle in Arunachal Pradesh, India.

UNLABELLED To explore the seasonal prevalence of tick infections in mithun (Bos frontalis) and yak (B. grunniens) a study was conducted in Papum Pare district, Kurung-Kumey district and West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, India from December 2012 to November 2014. Adult ticks were collected from both the animals during the month of December 2012 to November 2014. Ectoparasites were identified on the basis of their morpho-anatomical features observed through light microscope. A total of nine different species of ectoparasites recovered belong to the family Ixodidae are Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus, R. (B.) geigy, Haemaphysalis davisi, H. darjeeling, H. longicornis, H. bispinosa, Ixodes acutitarsus, I. ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Out of 129 mithun examined during the survey R. (B.) microplus and H. davisi showed 100% prevalence of infections throughout the year followed by H. longicornis (35.65%), H. bispinosa (30.23%), R. (B.) geigy (25.58%), I. acutitarsus (20.93%), H. darjeeling (7.75%), I. ricinus (1.55%) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (0.77%). Similarly, all 21 yak examined revealed to be infected with R. (B.) microplus (100%) followed by I. acutitarsus (51.14%) and H. davisi (33.33%). In mithun the rate of infection due to all the nine ectoparasites rose to a peak during June to August. Except for the winter season, R. (B.) geigy occurred throughout the year. I. acutitarsus and H. darjeeling showed their occurrence throughout the year except during spring, however, I. ricinus and R. sanguineus occurs only during rainy season. KEY WORDS Bos frontalis, B. grunniens, ecto-parasite, Arunachal Pradesh, India.