Ticks fauna of sheep and goats in some suburbs of Mazandaran province, Iran

BACKGROUND:Ticks are obligatory blood sucking arthropodsthat can transmit important pathogens. OBJECTIVES: Thedistribution and diversity of ticks fauna were last studied in the northof Iran in 2007. Mazandaran province has a humid climate, whichis favourable to animal husbandry such as sheep breeding. Due tohumid climate, the likelihood of exposure to tick infestation isincreasing. The aim of this study was to determine the ticks founa ofsheep and goats that grazed on the outskirts of mazandaran in 2012.METHODS: During the first 7 months of 2012, a total of 1190 tickspecimens were collected from the whole body of sheep and goatsfrom 23 different points of Mazandaran province. Adult male tickswere identified under a stereomicroscope, according to theidentification keys. RESULTS: The identified tick specimensbelonged to six Genus and 11 species, including Rhipicephalusturanicus (47%), Rhipicephalus bursa (24.6%), Haemaphysalispunctata (17.16%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4%), Haemaphysalisconcina (3%), Haemaphysalis parva (1%), Hyalommamarginatum (1%), Hyalomma anatolicum (0.6%), Dermacentormarginatus (0.6%), Ixodes ricinus (0.5%), and Boophilus(Rhipicephalus) annulatus (0.3%). Rh. turanicus was the mostabundant tick. CONCLUSIONS: Due to climate change, regularmonitoring of distribution patterns of ticks is an important concernto control the ticks and tick-borne diseases.