Insights into Epizootiology and farmers' Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of tick infestations in livestock

Ticks are significant vectors of livestock and humans. Ticks and associated pathogens in commercial or household settings could be preventable if their ecological prevalence is well understood. The current study was designed to investigate the epidemiological status, risk assessment of hard ticks in Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Rawalpindi zones. Overall tick prevalence in bovines from the study zones was 63.1%. The hard tick species found at highest prevalence rates, across the study area were Hyalomma (38.72%), Rhipicephalus (29.3%), Boophilus microplus (25.7%) and Haemaphysalis (5.67%). Soft ticks (Argasidae) were also collected (Prevalence= 0.51%) from bovine dwellings. Seasonal variability in the prevalence of ticks revealed that the tick infestation was maximum in summer and minimum in winter. The animal species, breed, body condition, age, history of acaricidal treatment, biosecurity measures, host mobility, herd size, and type of farming and mode of feeding were found to be statistically significant risk factors for tick prevalence (p≤0.05). The Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) study among small herders of bovines revealed the lack of knowledge regarding ticks and the potential animal and zoonotic diseases posed by ticks (p<0.001). The ecological presence of ticks could signpost the need to devise an adequate frequency and the types of multi-faceted approaches required to prevent them. This study reports novel trends in the epizootiology of ticks of bovines within three different ecologies alongwith the KAP analysis from small holders within study localities that signpost the need for more outreach regarding ticks and tick-borne diseases.