Important Cattle Ticks and Tick Born Haemoparasitic Disease in Ethiopia: A Review

Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa, but the contribution for the economic aspect of the country is still lowest and disease can be considered as major constrain. Ticks are the most important ectoparasites of livestock in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Ethiopia is not exceptional and ticks are responsible for severe economic losses both through the direct effects of blood sucking and indirectly as vectors of pathogens and toxins. Feeding by large numbers of ticks causes reduction in live weight gain and anaemia among domestic animals, while tick bites also reduce the quality of hides. However, the major losses caused by ticks are due to the ability to transmit protozoan, rickettsial and viral diseases of livestock, which are of great economic importance world-wide. This review concerns with general aspects of tick biology, the taxonomy, pathogenic effects and methods for the control of ticks. Further, the paper highlight the status of ticks and tick borne haemoparasitic diseases in Ethiopia. Ticks belong to the suborder Ixodida, which contains a single super family, the Ixodoidea, which is divided into two major families, Argasidae (soft ticks) and Ixodidae (hard ticks) and the rare family Nuttalliellidae, with a single African species. The main tick genera found in domestic animals of Ethiopia are Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus, Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus). Various breeds of cattle differ in their response to tick infestations. Bos indicus pure breeds and crossbreeds were reported to be more innately resistant than Bos Taurus breeds. The conventional method of controlling tick infestations in Ethiopia is application of acaricide, either by hand spraying, by hand dressing. Therefore, to minimize tick adverse effect appropriate and timely strategic control measures are crucial.